The Perfect Touch
by great2read
Summary: Isabella Swan finds her aversion to touch distressing. Can a familiar stranger find a way to help her? Now posted final chapter.
1. Chapter 1 - First Meeting

_A/N: I know what you're thinking - didn't I already post this story? And the answer is yes and no. I've changed it once again (for the better) and this time the whole thing is done. I plan on posting each month separately. Which means it should be about 12 or so posts._

 _This is an original story which I tried to change the names of the characters into Twilight ones so if the descriptions don't match, let me know and I'll correct them. I also left some of the originals in place. I just like it better that way. I hope this version isn't too confusing._

 _The usual disclaimer: Twilight is Stephenie Meyers, all else is mine._

 **._.**

 **Ch 1** **September – First Meeting**

Isabella Swan was a sophomore at Arizona State University in Phoenix. She had chestnut hair and a pale complexion, though over the summer her favorite recreational sport was bike riding. Her best friend and neighbor since they were thirteen was Angela Weber. That was the age Isabella's mom started dating again and the house always had a strange man in it. As Isabella grew, creepy guys were a staple in her home and she began to equate the accidental touches from these men as assaults to her person. This led to physical contact with any male into a taboo. At first Isabella was in an all-girls university, but since no one she knew went there she transferred and was lucky enough to share a dorm room with Angela.

They were watching the end credits for a chick flick when she asked, "Did you ever have that feeling of lightning striking when you met someone? Do you think it's true that this person could be the one?"

"Nah. The whole zap life change at the face of a stranger— kind of ridiculous," the other responded.

"Yeah. If such a thing did exist, I would probably run."

"Thinking about Robert?"

"Well ..."

"It's too bad I didn't get to meet the jerk. I would have kicked his butt. Using you like that to win over Jessica," Angela said. "What an A-hole."

"I felt really dumb. I'm so glad he doesn't go to this school. If I had to see his face every day, it would be awful." Isabella resolved, "I should've listened to my stomach. The moment that weird feeling started—"

"You mean the butterflies?"

"Huh?"

"The fluttering around feeling like butterflies when someone gets too close?" her friend interpreted.

"Yeah. It meant trouble."

"It meant you liked him."

"Which meant, _I'm in trouble!_ "

Angela just laughed. She didn't understand it was _more than just butterflies_. Isabella's heart would race and she would feel as if bugs were crawling along her skin. A panic attack was a better name for it, but she was very good at hiding it. She would casually move aside or would pull away from them. It protected her from heartbreak, but also left her lonely. When Robert, an old classmate from elementary, entered her life, she wanted to be like the other college girls. She ignored the panic and let him get close. Unfortunately, he was using her to make someone else jealous.

Angela changed the subject. "Hey, remember that 'Youngest To Do' program we watched the other day? It talked about this young business genius named Edward Masen?"

"Yeah what about it?"

"Well the buzz in the Business and Finance department is he's coming here, to ASU," she stated.

"To teach? That would be weird. Didn't it say he was nineteen?"

"It _would_ be a nice change from the aging faculty. You think he's cute?" Angela imagined. The other shrugged. "I'm going to jump into the shower before starting my homework." Angela headed to the bathroom.

"Wait, I need to use the toilet," Isabella called.

"Too late." The door slammed. "Use the one in the hall," she yelled from behind the door. Isabella left her dorm and entered the community restroom. Once she'd finished, she headed back to her dorm room. But then did an about-face, she stepped back in the bathroom leaving the door wide opened assessing her hair.

At the same moment, a new student was getting an impromptu tour of the girls' dorms. Edward Masen, the business prodigy, bore a stunning resemblance oddly enough to Robert. They both had a flawless complexion, almost bronze hair worn short and carefully tousled with dark green eyes and a pointed nose, which rounded at the tip. At five foot eleven inches tall it seemed the combination couldn't possibly be duplicated coincidentally. He came to ASU to get his official degree in business with a minor in psychology. At the moment, he was the CEO of an investment company, which was started by his deceased father. He figured, since he needed to run a business, he might as well prove to the big shot competition that he knew what he was doing. The resident advisor (RA), Tyler, took Edward to the female dormitory first, so he could visit his girlfriend, Lauren. Several girls peeked out of their rooms to discover why there were boys' voices in the corridor. Edward couldn't help looking around glancing through doorways. _There are so many pretty girls. I'll never get any school work done_ , he thought.

Just then he glanced into the restroom spotting the back of a girl in a black spaghetti strap tank top and short shorts. She was bent over pulling her shoulder length hair over her face. Through the reflection he met one deep brown eye and then he looked away. Isabella quickly hid behind the door.

"What is Robert doing here?" she whispered to herself. After a moment she carefully stepped out, checking to see if he was still out there, noticing girls out in the hall. It occurred to her something was going on, but she just quickly headed for her room. Edward turned around at that moment and saw a female figure retreating away and exited through a door.

Tyler took Edward to the male dormitory building next to find his dorm room. He received a more expensive single. He unpacked his things and wished he had his assistant to get him organized. He called up Mr. Jay, his personal assistant in Chicago, to hire someone to help ease the transition into college life. Mr. Jay made some calls and set up interviews with college students for the next day.

Edward interviewed several students, one of which was Isabella. Once she saw him, her cheeks instantly reddened, because of his resemblance to her ex. It dawned on her it must've been him the other day and not Robert. Since he failed to show any recognition of her, she took a few deep breaths to calm down. Edward found her very efficient with all her extracurricular qualifications. She seemed like an overall pleasing person and there was something else. He instantly hired her.

Isabella helped him find his classes and showed him all the short cuts to get to any building he needed quickly, but she never spoke to him on a social level. She always wore a baseball cap and her chestnut hair in a ponytail. A bit embarrassed about the incident she hoped he would never recognize her.

After a week of this, he decided to break the ice. Using her first name he began, "So Bella, you seem really wound up, all business-like. You should really loosen up. I like to know a little about my employees. Tell me about yourself."

Her face paled as she felt a moment of dread. The last thing she wanted was for him to realize he knew more than he should about her undergarments. "Uh, what do you want to know?"

He didn't understand what was wrong, so he decided maybe she would be more comfortable if he shared too. "Tell you what, I'll go first. You could call me Edward. No more of that 'Mr. Masen' business and I'm originally from Chicago. I'm getting a business degree, although I'm not sure which, specifically. I have no siblings and I like the color purple, the actual color not the movie."

She smiled at the joke. "I know who you are. I once saw you on TV. Why are you taking business, when you should really be teaching it?"

"I'm just trying to make my knowledge of business official. I don't want people thinking I'm coasting on my father's dime. Besides, there are other things I could learn. This university offers lots of different subjects I'm interested in. Psychology for example, it fascinates me."

"Well you already know I'm a Liberal Arts major. I basically want to taste a bit of everything." She looked down for a second and then said, "Could you please, call me Isabella? I hate it when people call me _Bella_."

"Okay _Isabella_." He gave her his million watt smile and her middle gave an involuntary flutter.

Just then his cell phone rang. It was Mr. Jay reminding him about the Benefit Dinner planned here to show the clients Edward was still on top of things at his company. He snapped his phone shut and looked at her.

"Isabella I need a favor," he said. "There is a Benefit Dinner I need to attend and I want to bring a date." She froze for a moment, but he didn't notice. "There was this girl I saw once, I want to ask. What kinds of things impress girls here?"

"Oh, I don't think you'll have a problem impressing girls." She smiled shyly lowering her eyes. "I guess flowers or chocolates. Just stick to the classics."

"The classics …" he pondered. "Good idea. Do you know where I could get a suit?"

 **._.**

Edward walked quietly up the stairwell to the mystery girl's dorm building reaching up to the correct floor. He held a small bouquet of half a dozen flowers, each a different color and style. He gently pulled open the door, peering in to see if any students were in the hall. It was already late in the evening. People were expected to keep quiet at this hour. He reached to the door he saw the girl enter and knocked upon it.

"Who's there?" a young voice asked. Edward put the flowers behind his back. He cleared his throat and said his name.

The door opened to a honey highlighted brunette with light brown eyes. "Hi. Could I help you with something?" Angela asked.

"Um, I'm looking for someone. Is there a girl with brown straight hair and dark brown eyes sharing this room with you?"

She nodded. "Bells!" she called behind her, "Get over here. There's a cute guy here for you." She turned back to Edward. "I'm Angela by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Isabella walked into view and his jaw dropped along with the flowers. "Uh—"

"You know I hate being called—" She spotted the floral deposit behind him. "What's … going on?

"I came here to find … but it couldn't be—" His eyes glanced down her body then up again and he smiled. "It's you. I saw _you_ that first day. You were wearing—"

"Hey!" she interrupted. Her heart raced as color rose in her cheeks. One arm crossed over her chest holding her bicep to squeeze herself in a subconscious covering up. "Angela, can you excuse us?" Angela went into the room while Isabella stepped farther out and spoke to him in a whisper. "I thought you didn't remember."

He bent down to pick up the arrangement. "These are for you," he offered.

She shook her head. "I don't want them." She pushed them gently away.

"But I want to ask you to the Benefit. You're the girl I saw …" His eyes dropped to her body again.

"Stop! Stop looking at me that way." The imaginary bugs were crawling all over her. "There were plenty of girls out admiring you that day. Why don't you ask them?" She slammed the door. He also heard her yell, "And find another girl to be your guide."

"What?" His face contorted. His voice dropped. "But I hired _you_."

 **._.**

Every morning Edward woke early and placed one of the flowers from his bouquet on Isabella's door knob, so when the door opened it would drop to get the two girls' attention. First one rose, then a tulip, a lily, an iris, and each time Isabella picked up the flower and tossed it unceremoniously into the trash. Angela was the one who discovered the daffodil. She liked that one and wouldn't let her roommate destroy it. "If you don't want it, I'm putting it by my bed in a cup."

"It's from Edward. I know it. He just doesn't get it. Tomorrow I'll catch him and set him straight."

The next morning she got up at 5:00am waiting for the telltale sounds of someone leaving the plant. She heard footsteps approach around six and she peeked through the peep hole and spotted Edward. Her heart was thumping. She pulled the door open before he escaped. "Oh!"

"You have to stop," she whispered loudly. "I don't want any —" she saw the daisy on the floor. That one was her favorite. She picked it up and offered it back to him. "Flowers."

"It's for you, an apology. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm really sorry." He kept his eyes on hers. "I'm not sure why I didn't figure it out earlier, but now that I did, I'm glad it's you. You're kind and you're smart. I'm comfortable, because you're already like a friend."

"Friend? I was an employee and this could be considered sexual harassment."

"Well then you're fired. Now will you go out with me?"

She gave a quiet laugh. "I already quit and no."

"Why not?"

"I don't date," she mumbled.

"You don't? What, are you not allowed? Is your mom and pop really strict?" he joked.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, nothing like that."

He smiled and his hand came up to touch her face. "You have a nice smile." She flinched away and both their faces fell. "I repulse you," he concluded.

The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering like crazy. "It's not like that. It's just my ex—"

"I thought you don't date?" His eyes narrowed.

"I don't. I made one exception and he used me."

"Ah, so you've sworn off men." He called out to the Heavens, "Thanks, whatever-your-name-is."

Two different doors opened in the hallway. "Shh!"

"Can you please keep it down? There are people still asleep!"

"Sorry," Isabella responded. "Edward you need to leave." She shut the door. Her hand still held the flower and she smelled its sweet scent with a smile.

 **._.**

At lunchtime Isabella waited on line in the cafeteria. Her hair held the daisy Edward had given her.

"So you _haven't_ sworn off men," he called out walking over to her.

She adjusted the flower a little. "I just happen to love daisies." Her cheeks pinked.

"Interesting, so I have a chance?"

"No." Her pulse quickened at the thought of him touching her again. "You look like him." His brows furrowed in question. "Robert. My ex."

"How so?"

"Your hair, your face, your body."

He clutched his arms around his chest in mock embarrassment. "Hey! Now who's ogling whom?"

She laughed.

He unclenched. "In all honesty, I just miss you. We don't have to date, just hang out."

"You mean like friends?"

He hesitated. "Yeah …"

"No touching?" she asked.

"No touching."

 **._.**

The next day he spotted her in the cafeteria with her head down taking a nap. He brought her a latte and set it down.

"Isabella, wake up," he urged. He stepped around the chair and leaned over her. Her scent seemed enticing. He whispered in her ear what his mother used to use to wake him when he was a child, "Wakie, wakie. Rise and shine."

She jerked awake. He quickly flinched back.

"Are you okay?" he chuckled, "I brought you some wake up juice." He pointed at the insulated cup.

"Thanks." She took a sip. "How did you know how I liked it?"

"I didn't. I just got two the way I usually drink it and hoped for the best. Why are you so tired anyway?"

"Late night studying."

The next morning he waited for her outside with an extra café latte in hand. She saw him and smiled. "You read my mind!"

"What are friends for?" he smiled back. She took the coffee and began sipping it as he walked her to her first class. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Okay."

Edward made it to the cafeteria first. She joined him shortly after. He was done eating and took out his homework to staple it. The sound made her remember something.

"So, the Benefit Dinner … when is it?" she uttered without looking at him.

"It was yesterday."

"Oh, well. How was it?"

"Fine. It was just like any other business dinner, only part of it was promoting a charity. I gave them my plans on how I intend on keeping in touch with my clientele and explained how there won't be a decline in my work, though I'm doing a lot more delegating."

"Oh," she responded quietly.

His head tilted. "Didn't that answer your question?"

"Yes. I was just wondering who your date was."

He smirked. "Then why didn't you just ask that?"

She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "Who was your date?"

He paused a moment to gauge her reaction. "I didn't have one."

Her mood lightened. "Couldn't find anyone, huh?"

"No, that wasn't it. I just thought it best to go solo."

"Why?"

"Well, it occurred to me anyone I take might misinterpret my motives, because I already have my eye on somebody and she couldn't make it."

Her eyes dropped down while her heartbeat picked up the pace. She was taking controlled breaths so not to give herself away. "Edward —"

He interrupted her, "You don't think Taylor Swift is out of my league, do you?" She couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, are you free on Friday? I'll have finished my exam and I'll be in the mood to do something fun."

"Um," he thought for a moment. "It's a possibility. What do you want to do?"

"Do you want to go bike riding?"

"Bike riding?"

"Yeah."

"No."

"What's wrong with bike riding?"

He took his time answering. "I can't ride a two-wheeler."

"What? How could that be?"

"I didn't have a normal childhood," he admitted. "I spent most of the time indoors with my dad at work."

"Then you need to let me teach you. No one should grow up not knowing how to ride a bike. As a kid, speeding on a two-wheeler was the best feeling in the world!" The look in her eyes of the thrill made him curious.

"But what if I fall?"

"You're not going to fall. Well maybe once or twice, but you'll easily get the hang of it. Piece of cake."

He began putting his homework away. "Time for class."

"Well?" she queried.

"Okay, fine," he huffed.

 **._.**

At 10:00am Friday he nervously waited outside for Isabella. He couldn't stop pacing. His cell phone rang and it brought him to a halt. He glanced at the number.

"Mr. Jay how are things planning out?"

"Everything is going according to schedule here. Did you pick up the suit I ordered for you at the address I texted to you?"

"No, I'm taking today off. Sorry."

Mr. Jay flustered, "But Edward the clients are expecting—"

"There are other people who are familiar with the situation. Bradley and Whitlock should be there. Have them write out the plans and e-mail it to me. I'll look at it tonight," he assured. Isabella came out and walked slowly behind him, trying to listen to his conversation.

" _You_ are the company. The clients want your ideas on this," Mr. Jay pleaded.

"I'm flattered, but I'm busy at the moment."

"It's a girl, isn't it? You promised—"

"Just tell them I'm sick or something." And he snapped his phone shut. Edward was a little miffed. Mr. Jay was _his_ assistant and he shouldn't be telling him what to do.

He turned around unexpectedly and jumped back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Isabella apologized. "The phone call sounded important. Do you need to go?"

"No. They could handle things without me. You got me hyped-up about riding. Come on," he said trying to add the right amount of enthusiasm. They got into his silver Volvo and she dropped a big backpack onto the back seat.

"First-aid kit?" he claimed.

"Among other things."

With Isabella navigating he drove to _The Outdoor Sports Authority_ where they rented bikes and gear. Parked in the lot behind the store, they walked the bikes to the nearby grassy park. Edward got onto the bike and instantly lost his balance. He hit the floor and she brutally laughed.

"I'm glad you get so much pleasure from my pain!" he said while rubbing his leg.

"I'm sorry. It's just the way you fell. Did you expect it to hold you up?" He pushed the cycle aside. "Let me help you." She pulled the bike up and steadied it for him. He got on again, but kept his feet on the ground. "The trick to riding a bike is confidence. You have to believe you could, because you need to keep pedaling to keep your balance. If you're unsure and go slowly, then you'll lose your balance and fall over," she instructed. She got on her bike and showed him how to kick off and start pedaling. She rode back and held his bike seat to give him a chance to try. She steadied the bike and once he said ready she gave him a shove. He quickly put his feet on the pedals and pushed. He wobbled a bit, but kept on going. "Impressive."

"How do I stop?" he yelled as he turned his head to look at her. Suddenly he was on the ground.

"Never mind." She was laughing again. This time he laughed too.

After a few more tries and several cuts and scrapes later, they were both riding side by side.

"The real thrill is going downhill, but I doubt you have enough control for that. We'll just have to do this again another time. Are you hungry? It must be lunch time by now." They rode back to the store and returned the bikes.

"Is there a place to eat out here?"

"Picnic," she stated.

"Excuse me?"

"I brought sandwiches and drinks for a picnic." She started walking back to the park and he followed. She stopped by a tree and took a flat sheet out of her backpack. They laid it out and sat. She gave him a few sandwiches and juice boxes. She took one sandwich and took out a novel from her bag.

"Mmm PB and J, my favorite," he joked.

She pursed her lips. "It's the only thing I had that would keep without ice."

"No, it's fine. I really do like peanut butter and jelly. Thanks." He leaned back against the tree. She pointed at the book.

"Do you mind? I didn't know what to bring you."

"It's fine. I could glance around this oasis in Phoenix. What are you reading?"

" _Tartuffe_ for English class."

"We are covering that in my literature class too. Who do you have, Johnson?" She nodded. "Do you mind if I read a little beside you?"

"Ah..." She looked at him warily. It sounded like an innocent question. "No, I guess we could share." She opened to where her bookmark held her place and he leaned over. He caught a glimpse at her exposed neck as he peered down at the book. He had already read past this chapter. He took a deep breath absorbing her aroma. His eyes closed as he slowly exhaled.

The close proximity was beginning to unnerve her. She turned to him and stared, "What are you doing?"

He recovered quickly. "Being patient. I already read past this part."

"Oh. We could finish eating and just go home to read."

"No, continue reading. I'll just wait."

"I don't want you to be bored staring at nothing."

"I'm not staring at nothing. There is plenty to see." He leaned back again and looked up into the tree. She leaned back also peering upward. He turned his head and gazed at her profile.

"Honestly, I'm not clear what you find so fascinating," she claimed.

He looked up before speaking. "That's because you're not looking where I am."

She shifted closer trying to find his point of view then turned to him. "What are you looking at?"

He turned to face her. "Something really beautiful."

She swallowed hard. "I think we should head back."

 **._.**

At night Isabella called Edward while he was going the through his e-mails.

"Hey, I'm not interrupting you on a date, am I?"

He was surprised by the question. "Date? No. I was just doing some work. What's up?"

"Well, I need to see this documentary for my theater class and Angela won't come with me. Everyone else in class saw it already and I really don't feel comfortable going to the movies alone. Could you go with me?"

"A movie? That sounds like a date."

"It's an assignment," she corrected.

He smiled to himself. "Sure. What's the name of the movie?"

" _First Woman_. It's all about Eve. You know like Adam and Eve. We'll meet at the movies, so _it's not a date_ ," she insisted.

"All right, it's not a date. Is tomorrow night okay?"

"Yeah."

 **._.**

Isabella was changing to go to the movies, when Angela came in to retouch her make-up.

"I'm going out to dinner with Eric," she stated.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"So what are you planning on doing tonight?"

"I'm going to the movies. I found someone willing to see _First Woman_ with me."

"Oh yeah, who?"

"Edward Masen."

"Edward? Well, you've been spending a lot of time with him."

Isabella became defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. Does he know you're going to see that boring movie?"

"Yes."

"When is he picking you up?"

"He is not. We are meeting there."

 **._.**

Edward was already waiting at the movie theater when Isabella arrived. "What was the name of the movie again? I can't seem to find it."

She walked up to the ticket booth, worried. "Two for _First Woman_."

"That's not playing anymore," the ticket agent said. "Is there something else you would like to see?" She gazed at Edward. He asked the ticket agent if _First Woman_ could be found elsewhere. "Not likely since it has been gone for more than a week."

"You know so we don't waste the trip we could stay and see what's playing now," she suggested.

" _Phantom's Revenge_ is about to begin," the agent chimed in.

"Do you like scary movies?" she asked.

"I love them, but are you sure?" he questioned.

"I'm willing to stay, but if it gets too scary, could we leave?" she anxiously asked.

"Of course, I don't want you to have nightmares."

They took their seats in the middle of the row and the lights dimmed. For about twenty minutes there were nonstop screams and flinches from the audience. Isabella couldn't take it anymore. She just turned toward Edward and kept her eyes closed. Her pulse went so fast from the horrific movie; the closeness to him had no added affect. A bit uncomfortable with the weight on his shoulder, he put his arm around her. That's when he caught her scent again. He just stared at her under his arm. He couldn't hold on to his urges any longer. He lifted her chin and went for a kiss. She instantly pulled away. Her face was contorted with disgust. She got up and mumbled "excuse me's" to the other occupants of the row. Sniffs between her words implied she was crying.

"Isabella," he whispered before following her out. He spotted her sitting on a bench. Tears were rolling down her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he kept repeating. He knelt down in front of her to see her face. It was staring straight ahead and was expressionless. "I know we are following a hands-off friendship policy. I don't know what came over me." Isabella just shook her head, got up, and walked out the exit without looking back. He stood and paced back and forth, rubbing his hand to his forehead. "I'm so dumb," he cursed himself.

 **._.**

That week Edward gave Isabella her space, but it didn't appear she was even around. He suspected she had barricaded herself in her bedroom. He called her number, but Angela answered.

"Hey, this is Edward Masen. I was wondering if Isabella is okay? I haven't seen her around."

"She hadn't spoken or even left the room since she came home from the movies. I don't understand what's wrong with her. I couldn't even get her to go to the doctor. Was the movie so bad?"

"We ended up watching something else, but I may have ... Is it possible you could allow me to talk to her?" he reluctantly asked.

"I just told you she's not speaking. What did you?"

"Just tell her I'm sorry."

"Maybe you should tell her in person," Angela suggested.

 **._.**

On Friday Edward knocked on Isabella's door and Angela answered.

"How is she?"

"Still silent. At the moment she's in the bathroom. I need to get to class." She turned to the door and knocked. "Bells, I need to go, but Edward is here. Should I make him leave?"

Isabella opened the door slowly, her clothes completely drenched in water. "No."

"Isabella?"

"I'm fine," she assured her friend. "Go to class."

Angela nodded and walked into the outer corridor. She gave Edward a stern look. "You better keep your hands to yourself." Then she left.

There was a puddle forming on the floor. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I needed to do the laundry and take a shower. This is what my messed up brain came up with." Isabella began to shiver.

"Oh." He grabbed the towel that was hanging and extended it to wrap around her.

"No, no!" She pulled away. "I could do it myself." She took the towel from him and wrapped her shivering body. "I can't stand to be touched. It makes me uncomfortable."

"What? You mean if _anyone_ touches you?"

"No, just males."

"Oh."

"That's why I don't date. My heart, my stomach, all my insides go haywire."

"That _does_ sound uncomfortable. Is there a reason or were you always like that?" He tried to be understanding, but his curiosity was stronger.

"When I was thirteen my parents split up. My mom started dating again and the men that came around—"

"Oh." He stopped her. "Enough said. I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. It's just, I _really_ like you."

Her stomach knotted up and she began to massage it. "This goes against my better judgment."

"What does?"

"I kind of like you back."

"You do?" He smiled and it seemed like his eyes lit up, but then dimmed. "But this 'no contact' thing ..."

"Well, it's not like I don't _ever_ want to be touched, it's more like I need to prepare," she explained.

"Right. I'm not going to wait forever, am I?"

Isabella lifted her hand to touch his, but her insides balled up and she dropped her limb. "I'll work on it."

"While you do that, how about you and me go to the carnival tomorrow? There's one being set up by the canyon."

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

About an hour later, Angela came back and saw Isabella sitting on the couch, lost in thought. She smiled at her approach.

"You better?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"So what happened?"

"We talked it out. He likes me."

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah we have a date planned out, but …"

"But what?"

"Well the last time we were alone he kissed me."

"Is that what happened? What do you expect? You were on a date."

"No, we weren't."

"Yes you were. Both of you are unattached and were together alone in the dark movie theater. And, you obviously like each other. It was a date whether you admit it or not." Isabella pouted. "Guys expect things and Edward won't be any different."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, whatever is going on with you, is going to complicate things. Keep it simple. If you can't get over your problem, don't string him along. It could end up hurting both of you."

Isabella nodded. "When did you get so deep?"

"Hey, I have my moments."

 **A/N: So what do you think? Better? Worse? I left the old story up for comparison. It is titled "The important Touch." I like this title better.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Dating

_A/N: We've reached the end of the week and it's time for a new chapter. I hope those that read the previous liked it enough to keep coming back. Without further ado, chapter two!_

 **Ch 2 October – Dating**

When Edward and Isabella got to the carnival, it was already crowded.

"So what do you want to do first?" he asked.

"The Ferris Wheel. It has a short line." They traveled quickly through the line and were placed on the ride.

"I love to put my hands up in the air as the cart moves over the top. It feels like I'm about to fall. I always end up grabbing the bar after a millisecond," he mentioned. "Watch. Here we go!" He held his hands up, but quickly held on again. "See."

"You're such a chicken. I bet I could keep my hands up longer," she goaded.

"Oh really? Let's see," he challenged. They were back at the top and both held their arms up. As they came over the top, they both grabbed at the bar.

"I think it was a tie!" she concluded.

Suddenly the wheel abruptly halted. She grasped at the back of Edward's hand. He looked at her as she looked at him, and he smiled. As their cart swung, he turned his hand over so he could hold her hand properly. She could feel her insides beginning to flutter, so she let go when the cart stopped swinging.

"I wonder why the wheel stopped," he mused to break the tension. He looked down and saw a person vomiting on the floor. The passenger's cart door was still opened. "Oh, someone lost their lunch down there."

"Yuck. Now we'll smell it every time we pass. This is why I always eat _after_ the 'throw up' rides."

The wheel began to revolve again. As they passed the operator, Edward asked if they could get off. The operator let them off the ride after one revolution.

"What do you want to ride now?" he requested.

"Let's try some booths." They went from booth to booth, but they never won any prizes.

"How about some cotton candy?" she quested.

"You could have some. I don't like cotton candy. I prefer a pretzel with mustard."

"Ew." She made a face.

"Oh come on! Cotton candy is nothing but sugar fluffed into a cloud. At least a pretzel is sustenance."

"Yeah, but with mustard?" she complained.

"It tastes good," he defended. "If you try some with mustard, I'll try some cotton candy."

"You first," she injected.

Edward bought the cotton candy and pretzel. He also took some mustard packets from the stand. He gave the cotton candy to her then took a small piece off to eat.

"That's tiny, take a real piece." She took a hunk off with her fingers and dropped it into his hand. He stuffed the hunk in his mouth and tried to not make a face.

"You have to swallow it," she stated.

"I'm trying!" Edward said with his voice muffled. Once he got it down, he broke off a piece of the pretzel and gave it to her with a packet. "Now it's your turn."

She opened the packet and put some mustard on her piece. She placed it in her mouth. "Not bad."

"See," he laughed. "Don't knock things till you try them. Oooh, batting cages. I haven't played baseball in so long." They ran over to the cages.

"You played baseball, but didn't learn to ride a bike?"

"I played in school." He grabbed a bat and put a helmet on. He put a token into the machine. The first ball flew past him.

"Strike!" she called.

"I'm a little rusty," he justified. The next ball came by and he swung. There was a loud crack as he connected with the ball.

"Wow!"

When his turn was over, he gave her the helmet and bat. "I'm not very good."

"Give it a try." He went safely behind the fence and she put a token in the machine. The ball flew passed her as she swung each time without connecting to the bat.

"You're holding the bat too loosely and your stance is off," he criticized.

"Well then could you come and help me? I don't know what to do."

Edward took the bat from her and showed her how to stand. "Feet apart, bend the knees. Put your hands here and hold on tight." He gave the bat back to her. "I'm going to touch your hands, okay?" he asked. She nodded. He stood facing her and put his hands on top of hers. She tried to ignore the odd tingling beginning in her hands.

He positioned the bat over her shoulder and slowly swung it around toward him. "Like this," he explained. "And try to hit the ball when the bat is horizontal, got it?"

"I think so." She put the bat down and he stepped out of the fence again. She rubbed her hands together trying to be rid of the sensation, shaking her hands out before picking up the bat once more.

"Here's another token. Try again. I think you could do it." After missing the first, Isabella nicked the second and got good distance on the third.

"You see! That wasn't so hard."

"Those balls were flying really fast. Now my hands hurt."

"Let me see?" She gave him her hands and he massaged them. Her cheeks darkened as the fluttering in her stomach began.

She pulled them away. "They're fine now. Thanks."

They decided to go on the Scrambler next. While waiting, she glanced at the other couples standing on line. She noticed they were holding hands or touching in one form or another. She wanted to be like everyone else. She looked over at Edward. He was watching the ride spin around. She told herself she needed to get used to it and slipped her hand into his. The fluttering in her stomach intensified and her heartbeat increased. He looked at their hands for a moment and then slowly turned his head to her. She gave a weak smile. He tightened his grip to hold her palm.

Isabella's breaths became pants. "You don't have to do this. It's fine if you want to let go," he said.

"No," she said between breaths, "I don't want to."

She held his hand for the entire ride and only let go when the ride came to a stop.

"I think I'm ready to go home," she muttered. Her skin sensitivity was beginning to overwhelm her.

"That's fine. Let's go to the car." He was amazed at how long she held onto him and hopeful her obstacle may be overcome.

When they reached her dorm, he walked her up to her room.

"I had a nice time," she complimented softly. "Thank you."

"I'm glad." He lifted his fingers ignoring the automatic step backwards and touched the tip of her hair. "Your hair smells like strawberries. What shampoo you use?"

" _Elite,_ the _Strawberries and Cream_ one." Her cheeks pinked again as she felt the tingle in her scalp while he twisted her follicles.

"I'm just going to take a good whiff." He leaned in as Isabella was stuck unmoving, wide-eyed as he slowly inhaled. Her heart beat so loud she swore he could probably hear it. "Goodnight," he uttered as he stepped back and turned to go.

"Yeah, Goodnight," she whispered.

She entered her room and instantly wrapped her arms around her tummy and bent over a little. "Too much, just too much." She bit her lip for a moment. _Too much_ yes, but she yearned for more.

 **._.**

The next morning Edward was knocking at Isabella's door. "Who is it?" she asked still sleepy.

"It's Edward. I've come to take you to breakfast."

She opened the door a crack and mumbled, "It's 8:30 in the morning. Doesn't a girl have a right to sleep in on a Sunday?"

"I have to work later."

"Kay, give me ten minutes. I'll meet you downstairs," she yawned.

 **._.**

They walked to the café just off campus and sat down at a table. Both of them ordered just a croissant and coffee. The café was a popular breakfast area and within minutes it was packed. The two were enjoying the atmosphere until some cheerleaders walked right to their table.

"Hey, aren't you in my Psych class?" the tallest one asked. Edward just shrugged. "I'm Rosalie." She had beautiful blond hair and good sized breasts so not to hinder her athletics. She skimmed over Isabella, "Who are you?"

"Isabella."

"Well Annabelle, you don't mind if my crew and I crash here?"

"It's Isabella."

"Actually we do." Edward injected. "Go share someone else's table."

The cheerleaders left to invade another table and successfully coerce the occupants to vacate. Edward viewed his companion's face. "Well she was thoroughly rude."

She shook her head. "I can't stand girls who do that — get your name wrong purposefully to imply you're not important enough to remember. I know I shouldn't let it get to me."

He reached out to take her hand unconsciously, but she pulled her hand away. "Sorry," he murmured.

"No, it's okay." She took his hand and his thumb started stroking the back of her hand.

"I have to get some work done, but I want to see you later if it's okay."

"Yeah, not a problem." She was holding in her unease as her heart thumped its rapid beat.

He got up releasing her hand. "See you later."

As he left the café she rubbed at her fluttering tummy wondering when this feeling, if ever, will stop occurring.

 **._.**

In the mist of his business doings, Mr. Jay told Edward he scheduled him for a last minute business dinner in _Château Paris_ with some clients at 7:00pm. There was a problem with some things and only he would be able to resolve them.

"I can't. I have plans," he said.

"Well break them. This is important, you don't want them pulling out of the deal," Mr. Jay stated.

"Maybe I could bring her along. Will their wives be there?"

" _Her?_ You made plans with a girl? I thought you were going to get a business degree, not a girlfriend."

"Can't I do both?" he chuckled. "You don't understand. This one is different. She makes me earn everything."

"Uh-huh. Why is it we always want what we can't have?" Mr. Jay commented.

Edward hung up and called Isabella to fill her in on the plans tonight.

"I don't have anything to wear for a business dinner."

"I'll have something sent to you around six and I'll pick you up at 6:45. What's your dress size?"

"I'm a four, but you don't have to."

"I want you to be comfortable," he insisted. "It should be over by 8:30. We could do something else afterwards. Bring a change of clothes."

 **._.**

At 6:40 he called her to meet him outside. The group was running late. She came downstairs wearing the pearl satin cocktail dress he had sent. It clung to her hips and the skirt was pinned up in rows to give it an elaborate curtain-like appearance. Her usual loose hair was wrapped up neatly in a twist. A white limousine pulled up beside her.

"Whoa," she gasped. Edward stepped out of the limousine in a black suit and tie.

"I know." He smiled in his crooked way. "But the clients like to arrive in style. I have something for you." He handed her a box with a red bow.

"What's this?" she asked as she took it.

"Happy birthday," he muttered.

"How did you know?"

He grinned again. "You were my employee, remember? You wrote it down on your application."

"Well don't tell anyone."

"Why?"

"Birthdays aren't something I usually share. I don't like the fake attention." She reluctantly opened the box. It was a silver necklace of her name in a delicate script.

"It's so everyone will know your name," he said softly.

She couldn't believe how thoughtful he was. "Could you help me put it on?"

"Sure." He took the necklace from the box and she turned around, giving him the opportunity to lift the necklace over her head and linked it together by her neck. Her skin tingled at his touch. He couldn't help leaning forward and inhaling her perfume. "We're already late," he said, slightly distracted. "Let's get into the limo."

Inside were two couples. The men wore gray suits of different shades. The woman beside the darker suit wore a dark purple A-line dress, which had a low neckline. Her auburn hair was puffed up in front and held together in a sleek low pony. The other woman wore an above the knee red dress and a black satin bolero. Her short black hair was loose and parted down the center of her head. The men introduced themselves.

"I'm Eleazar Bradley and this is my wife Carmen." He gestured to the woman in purple next to him.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock and this is my wife Alice." He turned to her and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Isabella Swan."

 **._.**

They were all seated at a large table with more couples and the men started discussing product sales and investments. Isabella didn't understand anything they were saying. Even the other ladies were making comments, adding to the conversation. It made her nervous. She began to fidget and Edward turned to her.

"Are you all right?" he whispered.

"I feel out of place," she answered.

"Relax. It's fine. You look beautiful by the way," he dazzled her with his glistening teeth. She smiled back still worried.

"... And Mr. Jenks and his clients are still questioning the line. What do you think, Mr. Masen?" Mr. Bradley asked.

"Oh. Sorry. She was just wondering where the ladies room was," he responded quickly.

"Down there to your right," a waitress answered. Isabella got up and followed the direction.

She was joined shortly after by Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Whitlock. "So what are your intentions with Mr. Masen?" one asked in an almost parental tone.

"Excuse me?"

"We just want to know if you're one of those gold-digging girls," the other stated.

"It's fine if you are. We won't tell. Believe us, there are a few wives out there like that," the first added.

Isabella felt offended by these two women. She suspected they wanted to expose her as a bad seed and felt the need to defend herself. "I'm not like that. I really like him."

"Yeah, that's what we expected you to say. But still, he _is_ head over heels for you. I could see it in the way he looks at you," she explained. "We never saw him so—"

"Wait, what about Tanya?" the second interrupted.

"Who?" Isabella questioned.

"Oh, she's the last girl he brought to a dinner meeting. He was crazy for her, too. She was blonde, blue-eyed, and absolutely stunning."

"Oh. Was he serious about her?" she asked.

"Doubtful since you're here. Little known fact, blondes always get thrown back. It's the brunettes they keep." The first gestured to herself and her friend.

A familiar lady slipped her head through the door, "Hey dinner's served."

The three of them exited and went back to the table. Isabella glanced around the table at the other two wives. Neither one was blonde. Through the rest of dinner she was apprehensive. Edward asked her what was wrong, but she just shook her head and said, "Nothing."

When dinner was over, Isabella and Edward changed in the restroom to their light sweaters and denim jeans, while the limousine took the others back to their hotel. The two college students walked over to a nearby park to go for a stroll. Isabella stared into space.

"That's it. I can't take it anymore! What's wrong? You go into the ladies room to relax, but you come out worse than when you went in. What happened in there?"

"The ladies from the limo ride asked me questions about you. They told me about Tanya."

"Oh!" He sat down on the bench by the tree. "I didn't know they remembered her. I planned to tell about her, but much, much later."

She sat down too. "Well, tell me about her now."

"I don't know."

"Please? She's blonde, blue-eyed, and stunning they said."

"Curly blonde and I hated how long it took her to fix it. She wasn't anything like you. Actually, she was quite the opposite. Not very smart, she didn't get into any college. And ..." he grinned, "She couldn't keep her hands off me. I liked her a lot."

Isabella slightly pouted her lower lip. "How long did you date?"

"For three months."

"Who ended it?"

"I did. Apparently, she couldn't keep her hands off anyone else," he said with a slightly irate tone. He averted his eyes so not to give in to his anger.

"Oh." She looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" He looked back at her. "It's not your fault."

She touched her necklace. "Someone once told me if a guy gives you something personal it means he really cares about you."

"See that's why I don't give gifts to girls I date. They always try to interpret it into more than it is. Couldn't it just mean I'm trying to get into your pants?"

"What!"

He chuckled, "Just kidding! It's your birthday." He leaned closer. " _And_ of course I care about you."

"Oh." She paused. Her heart beat soundly. "There was something else the ladies said."

"Oh? What?"

"See, you and I have only known each other for about a month, and they said blondes are thrown back and brunettes are the keepers."

"I don't think hair color has anything to do with … wait, you think I want to keep you. Well why not?"

Isabella focused on the ground. "I think they meant marriage."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there! I don't think I know you well enough yet."

She lifted her eyes to him and smirked. "That's what I was thinking."

He held out his hand and she took it. She felt her hand tingle and her racing pulse, but she held on.

"Thank you for the necklace and the dress. I couldn't have picked a better choice."

"You're very welcome." He lifted his other hand to stroke her cheek. She moved away slightly, and he paused. "You're so beautiful."

Her middle knotted. "I'm ready to go home now."

 **._.**

The next day Edward came up to her dorm room and knocked. Angela answered the door. "She's still in bed. She keeps muttering about a wonderful dream about midnight strolls in the park. I have no clue."

"Tell her I'm here," he told her smiling.

"Bells, time to get up. Edward's here," she called into the bed area.

"It's Isabella." She extended her necklace. "See Isa-bel-la. Learn to say the whole thing. Oh tell him I'll be five minutes."

True to her word, she was washed and fully clothed in five minutes.

"See curly hair would have taken forever," he chortled.

She grimaced. She didn't like being compared to Tanya. He pulled out a paper bag and gave it to her. When she opened it, she pulled out a muffin. "Breakfast?"

He stuck a candle in it and lit it with a lighter. "Birthday breakfast. Make a wish and blow out your candle."

She half smirked. "But my birthday was yesterday."

"I don't think it matters. You still deserve a wish." She smiled, closed her eyes and blew the candle out. The pastry was chocolate chip and she enjoyed eating it on her route to class.

 **._.**

At lunchtime Edward was standing outside of her calculus class. "I was going to sit in, but I noticed you were having a test. Why didn't you tell me? You could have been studying last night," he rebuked.

"I never study the night before. It feels like cramming.

"I had a test, too. I completely forgot about it. I hope I didn't fail."

"What was the topic?"

"Management and business strategies," he said with a smirk.

"Fail? You probably aced it!"

"Probably," he grinned. He offered his hand to her. She hesitated a moment pondering, but then took it. She wanted to become comfortable with his hand and she thought continuing to have contact might get rid of the ill effects. Her breathing became shallow as she tried to breathe through the fluttering.

Once they sat down in the cafeteria, she let go. They talked over their lunch about their childhood with their dads. "He used to take me bike riding after school," Isabella explained. "This way it gave my mom time to cook dinner without distractions. She was a very unpredictable cook back then."

"I saw pictures of me as a toddler sitting on my dad's lap at work. He had some work papers open and he was reading them to me. My mom said he did that a lot. I used to join him after school in his office and did some odd jobs at first. But when he saw I had an aptitude for this stuff, he made me more central to his work. So I learned the business and took over after him."

"Didn't you have school friends you wanted to hang out with?"

"I had a few friends who lived in the neighborhood, but mostly I became close with the people at the _Masen-Down Corporation_. That's the name of my dad's investment business."

"I have to get to chemistry class," she uttered after checking the time.

"Hey, one minute. You have a test in English coming up, right?" She nodded. "Well, I do, too. Do you want to come over and study together?"

"I tutor in the Center after my classes, but I'll be through after 4. I'll come over then."

 **._.**

There was a knock at Edward's door. He slowly opened it to let her in. She surveyed the scene. "This is a single room. You don't have a roommate?"

"Nope."

"So we're alone?" She hesitated before stepping in further.

"If you're uncomfortable, we could go to the library. I just thought here would be easier since we would not need to whisper."

"No, it's ... it's fine," she assured him lacking the full confidence she should in that statement.

He understood her waver. He tried to be a good host. "Do you want something to eat?"

"What do you have?"

"I've got frozen waffles, frozen pizza, frozen fish sticks—"

"I'm beginning to see a theme here," she jested. "What about some cereal?"

"I've got the colorful kind."

"Sure." He went to the kitchen area and served her a bowl. He knew people tended to feel better when they had food in them.

When she finished, they went to the couch and started pulling out the literature study sheet. They thoroughly read through their notes and the important parts from the book. After a solid two hours and a half of studying, Isabella excused herself for a bathroom break. When she came back Edward was pulling out cookies from the pantry.

"Want one?"

"Sure." She picked one up and sat down on one of the chairs. He took out some milk and sat in an adjacent chair.

"Isabella I was wondering, do you still see your dad?"

"Sure. My mom and dad are friends now. He comes around during the holidays and we spend it all together like a normal family minus the PDA."

"How is that possible with the way your mom was dating?"

"She slowed down _a lot,_ " she defended. "The two have a mutual agreement; she could date any man she wants and so could he."

He choked on his cookie. "Your dad is gay?"

She smiled. "You okay there?" He nodded and sipped some milk. "I'm not quite sure. I haven't seen any hard evidence, only suspicions, but it does explain my mom's behavior at first. She needed to prove she was desirable." He nodded again. She added, "Who wants to see their parent's PDA anyway? It's gross."

Edward looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. I bet you would give anything to see your parents together."

"Yeah well, my dad being dead makes that impossible, but I do have a stepdad. He's great. I was upset at first, but he makes my mom happy. I love seeing that — my mom smile, especially since the way my dad was with me and then through his illness."

"How was he with you?" she questioned.

"We were so close, almost inseparable. My mom probably felt excluded."

"So what's your stepdad's name?"

"Carlisle. They've been together for more than three years and they still look at each other like the first time. I want that."

"What?"

"I want to be able to look at a girl and think, _shit, she's still around?_ "

Isabella lightly shoved his arm as she joined in his laughter. A smile was still on his face as he slowly took her hand, watching carefully to tell if it would be okay.

"And I'd be glad she was." He gazed at her as his thumb lightly rubbed circles on her hand. He pulled her closer as he leaned toward her. His eyes dropped to her mouth.

Isabella's heart thumped wildly as she saw what was coming and she lurched back, her face turned away. Her breaths came out shallow and loud.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"No, it's fine." She gazed straight ahead. She took a few breaths. "Edward, I want you to kiss me."

He stared at her profile. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I just don't think I should see it coming." She could feel the knots forming with her request. After a moment she closed her eyes.

"What, you mean now?"

She nodded. Her eyes were still closed. He walked around and bent down in front of her. On his knees he lifted his body up quietly, tilting his face, pausing for a moment in anticipation, and then their lips met. A small smile formed as he closed his eyes. His hand came up to caress her face as he deepened the kiss. She tilted her forehead forward breaking the connection. Her breathing was erratic.

"Deep breaths Isabella," he whispered. "In through the nose. Out through the mouth." He breathed with her as they focused on each other's eyes. "In. Out. In. Out."

She did feel better with each breath. "How do you know how to do this?"

"You're not the only one whose heart races. Want to feel mine?" He took her hand and put it to his chest.

"Wow! How can you stand it?"

"I kind of like it." He lifted his hands to her face and pressed his mouth again to hers. He switched sides giving her a chance to take a breath in between.

He shifted down to give her a chance to calm. He could feel her pulse rushing under his fingertips by her carotid arteries. "You know what's running through my head?"

She took a deep breath. "No," she whispered as she breathed out.

"I'm kissing Isabella!" They both gave a shallow laugh as he kissed her once more. "I'm never going to want to stop."

He was going to kiss her yet again, but she interrupted. "Maybe we should." She pulled in some deep breaths. "It feels like I'm about to faint."

He smiled again. "Deep breaths Isabella, deep breaths."

After a few moments she stood up. "It's getting late. I really should go."

He settled to the floor; the pain of all his weight on his knees finally took over. She put her books in her bag as he glanced up at her. "You know you really are amazing," he huffed.

"Thanks," she said by the door. "You too." Then she walked out.

She ran all the way to her dormitory and set her books down. She sat on her bed shaking. _That was too much,_ she thought _._ She really liked him, but she didn't want to get hurt again _._

 **._.**

The next day Isabella woke early and left for the library to avoid any chance of seeing Edward. She also took her time getting to the cafeteria for lunch. Edward didn't understand why she didn't wait for him that morning, but didn't have a chance to find her during lunch. He and some of his classmates from psychology class had an impromptu study session in one of the booths.

They were going through Erikson's stages of development when he spotted Isabella sitting in a far off corner. He thought he caught her eyes, but something seemed off. He thought it best to leave her be, but he caved before the day was through. He decided to visit her while she was tutoring.

Through the window in the doors of the center he saw her sit down and wait for someone to need help. He walked through them and right up to the front counter.

"I need a tutor. What does _she_ teach?" He pointed to Isabella.

"Algebra," the helper stated.

"Yeah, I need help with that," he smirked. The helper handed him a slip to fill out and Edward walked to her table. Her head was down. He placed the slip in front of her on the table. She read the name on the slip then snapped her head up.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered conspiratorially. Her heart began a steady increase.

"I need help with algebra," he whispered back.

"You're not taking algebra."

"I could be taking algebra."

"But you're not. You're taking trigonometry."

"Well then I need help with trigonometry."

"That's Naomi over there," she pointed.

"I don't want Naomi. I want you. I _missed_ you."

A warm sensation started permeating through her, beginning in her stomach reaching out to her limbs. A smile peeked out from her lips. "You did?"

"Yeah." He set his things down and took a seat.

She glanced around. "You're going to get me in trouble."

"Not if you're actually tutoring me."

"But you're not taking algebra," she whispered through her teeth.

"We could study for our English test tomorrow, just until you have an algebra student to help."

"Fine. Take out your notes." She glanced around once more. They were able to study undisturbed.

When Isabella's shift was over, she took his slip to the desk and signed it. He walked her to her dorm to bid her adieu. His hand came up to move a strand of hair behind her ear. The tingling from his touch reddened her cheek and she gazed down. Her chest tightened as he stepped closer to her, inching his face forward for a goodnight kiss. She kept her face down. He noticed her hesitation and just planted his lips softly to her cheek.

His hand gently lifted her chin for her to look at him. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded, but he could tell something was still off. She hadn't taken a breath the moment his mouth found her cheek and the tension in her chest intensified. Her heart sped and the knot in her tummy grew.

"Have a good night," she said with her last bit of air. She quickly entered her room and shut the door behind her.

Edward spent the rest of the night speaking with Mr. Jay, going over decisions and some paperwork, e-mailing things back and forth. In the back of Edward's mind he had an inkling he needed to figure out what was bothering Isabella.

 **._.**

Edward went first thing in the morning to her dorm before she had time to escape. She was surprised to see him outside her door. "Good morning," he uttered.

"Oh, good morning."

"I thought maybe we could go get some breakfast before class. Maybe we could talk." He was good at this — client relations. That's why he was still head of his company, even while in ASU. He was good at discovering what people wanted and giving it to them.

"About what?" she asked.

"Anything."

She looked back into her room noticing Angela getting out of bed to begin her day. She didn't want her to suspect anything.

"Fine. Let's go."

All the while they went to the café and took it to go, they were quiet. Her heart beat steadily at a slow increase. They sat on a bench within campus. A knot formed not only in her stomach, but also in her throat. She knew the feelings building inside her were too much, but how could she explain it to him.

"So Isabella," he began. "How is everything?"

"Fine." She kept her face forward and to the ground.

"Are you sure? Because it seems like something is bothering you. Did I say something — do something wrong?"

"No, it's me." She turned to face him. "There has been a knot in my stomach, a strangle hold in my throat that I can't release. I can't breathe."

"Oh. Do you want me to take you to a hospital?"

"No," she minutely smiled. "It's not like that." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I need to be away from you. I can't breathe when I'm around you. My heart, my lungs, my stomach, even my head doesn't work right." More of her tears overflowed down her face.

He grabbed onto her wrist. "No!" His word came out with force.

She struggled against his tight hold. "Please let go." He released his grip.

"I don't understand. You don't make any sense. If we're going too fast, we could slow down. We don't have to break up."

"Every time I think about you, it happens. I'm worrying all the time. Even now," she panted as the salty drops flowed from her eyes, "I can't breathe."

"Then take a breath." He used a napkin to softly wipe at her cheek. "Take a breath and see what you're saying won't help." His breathing increased as his heart rate did. "It's just the tension between us. You just need to release it." He gently took hold of her face and kissed her. Their eyes were closed but watery. She kissed him back, loving the feeling of him there fighting to keep her, but she knew this feeling was temporary and the uncomfortable knot grew larger. "See?" he said after a moment.

"I'm sorry Edward. This isn't helping. I have to go. Maybe I'll see you around." She got up and left.

He sat there in shock. He was just dumped by a girl he _knew_ liked him _too_ _much_. He wanted to, needed to, do something drastic.

As Isabella made her way to class, she felt the knot loosen and her heart slowed down. "That's it," she whispered to herself. "No more touches. No more Edward." She felt her uneasiness go, but her tears didn't stop. She sat in the back of all her classes and didn't feel very hungry at lunch.

 **._.**

"Angela I think I've done a bad thing."

"Why, what happened?"

"I broke up with Edward."

"What? What did you do that for? You looked like you were doing well with him."

"It just was too much for me. When we kissed, it felt like … I don't know, like I might pass out. My heart raced and I could barely breathe."

"You idiot! I told you all those things happen because you like the guy. And he really liked you! I can't believe you blew it."

"I was _uncomfortable_!"

"Well, how do you feel _now_?! Do you feel better _now_?"

"No!" Isabella uttered. "I feel wretched. I feel empty, like someone shot a hole through my center."

 **._.**

The next day Isabella tried to spot Edward between classes or in the cafeteria, but she couldn't find him. She felt embarrassed on her way to his dorm, but that was the only place she thought he might surely be. She went there a few times, even knocked on the door with no answer. All phone and texts went unsent. It appeared he had vanished.

Isabella had trouble sleeping on most nights, only falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.

 **._.**

Weeks passed and Halloween was on Saturday. Everyone was invited to the KU Fraternity costume party. Angela and Isabella planned to go together, but then Angela got a date.

"Go anyway, maybe you'll see Edward there," she suggested.

"No. I think he doesn't want to see me. Besides, it's a costume party. Even if I _do_ see him, I won't _know_ it is him."

"Yeah, but depending on your costume, he'll know it's you."

"Sure _that_ will make him reveal himself," she said sarcastically.

She thought it over. It was apparent to her that it couldn't hurt to go. For the most part it would be a distraction. She acquired for herself a green fairy costume with wings and a wand. She chose this costume, because it didn't cover her face. She put her hair into a high pony and applied glittery makeup above her eyelids. She roamed around the party looking at the people intently. She tried to guess if one was Edward, but then gave up. She thought to herself she had truly messed up.

Determined to have fun anyway, she began to dance with the crowd being careful not to get too close to the other bouncing bodies. A male dressed in an all black cowboy outfit took an interest in her. He danced closer and adjusted his steps to match hers. After a few minutes, he asked if she was thirsty and directed her to the punch bowl. The two sat down by the tables amongst others who rested. The fast beat tired her out and a conversation seemed appealing.

"I'm Isabella."

"Joham."

"Wow, that's an interesting name."

"Yeah, well my parents took one look and decided they didn't like me enough to give me a plain name."

She giggled.

"Well plain-named Isabella, it's nice to meet you." He extended his arm. She just stared at his sweaty hand and he pulled it back.

"It's hard to believe you're not here with a date," he mentioned breaking the odd tension.

"Yeah, shocking," she spoke sarcastically.

"You sound sore." She shrugged. "Yeah I'm sore, too. I just broke up with my girlfriend. She's over there dancing with the Lone Ranger. Not even a week went by and she already found someone else." He pointed to the edge of the dancing crowd. Isabella glanced over, but couldn't tell who the Lone Ranger was dancing with.

"Oh I'm sorry. I guess we are both in recovery mode. I'm getting over a breakup as well. I messed up."

"How?"

"I made a mistake of letting him go and now I can't find him."

"Why would you want to find him? You're free. You could have anyone you want."

"Yeah, but what I _want_ is to tell him I'm sorry. I panicked, but there was no reason — he was perfect. I am really worse without him." She paused. "I'm sorry; I don't even know you. I really shouldn't be unloading my problems."

"You know what you need? You need to forget about him. Cheer up. If he's gone, it's his loss," the costumed fellow remarked. "Let's dance and leave our troubles behind us."

They got up and went to the dance floor. As they danced the music slowed. Some people sat down, while others got up. Isabella was about to go sit, but Joham put his arm around her waist to pull her close. She instantly felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. She squirmed a little and he held her tighter placing his other arm on her back.

"Relax and go with it," he whispered in her ear.

"Please let go," she begged. She couldn't decipher if he was just trying to dance or he was actually assaulting her. All she knew was she wanted him to release her.

"Shh. It's fine. Don't worry," he said.

"I want you to stop," she commanded louder.

"Come on, this is a party." His eyes dropped to her lips and he leaned in to kiss her. Suddenly, she was pulled out of the way and a fist hit Joham in the face. He crumbled to the floor in an unconscious heap. There was someone dressed as a white tiger standing beside her.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly.

The person's voice was clear through the mask. "You're welcome."

"Edward?" she said in shock.

He took off his mask. "Hi." His face reddened. He wasn't planning on revealing himself so soon, but she needed help.

"Omigosh, Edward! You're here. I'm so, so sorry." She put her arms around him without a thought. She was bathed in an overwhelming feeling of euphoria, tinged with remorse.

He was surprised by the embrace at first, but then he held tight and melted into her. He thought it would be difficult to convince her to take him back. This was a welcomed turn of events.

"It's okay."

"No, you don't understand. I was completely wrong." Her eyes began to tear up.

"Don't worry about it," he dismissed it lifting her chin. He looked into her liquid eyes.

"I misunderstood. I thought I was uncomfortable with my heart racing and my tummy in knots, but I didn't know once they were gone — once _you_ were gone, what pain really felt like. I didn't want to get hurt, because when you kissed me, I liked it. It scared me. I thought if I ended it, I could avoid the pain, but I ended up hurting anyway." She hugged him again. "I realized my mistake right away. I looked for you, but you were gone." She pulled away from him. "Where did you go?"

"I went home."

"I checked your dorm."

"No … home. Chicago. I needed to see someone and he's not in Phoenix."

"But your classes …"

"I spoke to the professors and a few extra assignments will solve that problem." He sighed. "I missed you so much." He lifted his hand and moved a few of her loose strands behind her ear. Her cheeks pinked. "How does that feel?"

She felt a tummy flutter begin. "Not so bad."

He looked down at her mouth and lightly rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. "You hurt me," he murmured.

"I know." She cast down her gaze.

"Don't do it again," he whispered into her ear. He moved slowly and connected his lips to hers. She felt the fire burning inside her enflame brightly, but he pulled away not wanting to push her too far. They began to sway to the slow music with their arms around each other.

 **A/N: Well? How did I do? Did you like this version better? I did. I'd love to hear from you.**

 **To read the previous version read "The Important Touch" on my story list.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Charmed

_A/N: I know you all have been waiting with baited breath for this next chapter. Well your wait is over._

 _Usual disclaimer - characters belong to Stephenie all else is mine._

 **Ch 3 November – Charmed**

Weeks in November passed and Edward spent most of his nights making up class lessons he missed during his absence. He barely had time to work let alone take Isabella out, but he had a plan to make up for it.

"How about you come with me to Chicago for Thanksgiving?"

"Tempting, but I need to go to my mom's for Thanksgiving. My dad's going to be there. They're counting on the visit. It's been a while since I've seen them."

"But, it's not fair. I've been working my butt off trying to play catch-up. I should get some time with you. What if you come Friday or Saturday? You don't need to see them the entire time."

"Edward I don't think it is appropriate for me to go alone. Besides, I'm still trying to find my comfort zone."

"Isabella, you won't be alone. You'll be with me. You know I'll protect you from anyone who'll harm you," he declared.

"But who'll protect me from _you_?" she mentioned sarcastically. She took a moment. "Why don't you come spend it with me at my mom's?"

"I can't. I'm playing catch-up at work too."

"You have to work _on_ Thanksgiving?"

"Technically the night of, I'm not working, but the rest of the days I am," he clarified. "So are you going to see me off at the airport?"

"Sure, I wouldn't miss it."

 **._.**

The day before Thanksgiving the two were saying goodbye outside of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. He took out his phone and asked for hers. One of the bystanders took a picture of him and Isabella with each phone.

"I'm going to miss you. I don't know how I am going to function without seeing you."

"It's four days. We've gone weeks without each other before. Besides, we'll talk on the phone and you have a picture of me now," she reminded him.

He leaned in close and took a deep breath, inhaling her essence. "I just love your scent."

"That reminds me. Here, something to help you remember me." She pulled out a shampoo bottle from a bag. "So you'll have my fragrance with you."

His mouth morphed into a grin. "Thank you." He leaned in again focusing on her mouth. She noticed and her breathing accelerated. He took his hand and caressed her face.

She leaned into it. "Deep breaths," she whispered to herself. He smiled and her breathing slowed with the comfort.

"I'll see you after the holidays." He turned to go into the airport.

"Wait," she called. She quickly wrapped her arms around him. "I'm going to miss you too." Her stomach bubbled uncomfortably, but she held on. He held her tight, so happy he had a chance to embrace her before he left.

 **._.**

Isabella gathered her luggage placing it in the trunk of her car. The drive home didn't take very long even with the holiday traffic. When she arrived, her mom came out in a rush to see her.

"Mom!" She jumped out of her red Chevy and gave her a big hug. "Mom, you lost weight." Her mom, Renee, was slightly heavy around the hips with long wavy hair worn at the moment in a French twist. She had the same green eyes as Isabella.

"Phil has been taking me out bike-riding recently. I've lost twelve pounds already. Your dad will be here tomorrow. I am preparing the turkey for tomorrow's feast. Leave your stuff in the car for now and come in to help."

"Sure."

"Where is Angela? I thought she would be coming home with you."

"Oh, she and her family went away for Turkey Day."

"That's too bad."

She helped her mother prepare the turkey as well as tonight's dinner, and then went out to get her stuff to unpack. That night Isabella sat in her bed. She held in her hand her opened phone with the picture of Edward and her. The doorbell rang. She and her mom got out of bed and headed for the front door.

"You expecting somebody?" her mom asked.

"No. Are you?"

"No. I told Phil Thanksgiving was time spent with my family." She peeked through the peephole and then opened the door.

"Surprise!" An athletic man walked in.

"Dad!"

"Hey, I caught an earlier flight. I just couldn't wait to see you girls." He hugged them both and kissed his daughter on the cheek. "I have a present for you. First help me with my bag here." He was carrying a duffle bag. After the night's excitement died down everyone retired for the night, the girls in their rooms and Dad on the couch.

The next morning Edward called during breakfast. "Hello. How was your night?" he asked.

"It was okay. My dad came early. He brought me earrings — late birthday present."

"That was parental of him. So I wasn't missed?"

"Of course I missed you. I even slept with my cell open to your picture. As we speak my cell is plugged into the wall."

He laughed. "I was so busy yesterday, but now I could relax. I'm just lounging in my living room, watching TV.

"Yeah, I was busy yesterday, too. Before I even got my things out of my car, my mom had me working on preparing the turkey. We added the seasonings and left it to soak in the marinade overnight. She just stuck the bird in the oven now. Did you know it takes six hours to cook?"

"No. How big is the turkey?"

"Huge! There are only three of us. My mom's going to have leftovers forever!"

He laughed. The sound echoed in her ears in comfort.

"Well, one day down, only four more to go."

"I don't think I'm going to last."

"Hey you could always come here. It's never too late to score a ticket."

"Um … on Thanksgiving Day? Yeah, the airports will be insane!"

"Hey honey, come on outside. It's a beautiful day," a voice called from outdoors.

"Was that your dad?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. Hold on." She moved the phone away from her mouth. "I'm coming!" She cleared her area, unplugged her cell from charging, putting it back to her ear, and stepped out of the house to her father. He had pulled out her bike from the garage.

"Want to go for a ride?" he asked.

"Don't mind if I do," a tall dark-haired boy answered.

Isabella gasped. "Edward?"

"Yeah," the voice in her cell responded.

"No, it's Robert. I know you couldn't have forgotten me."

Her heart jumped to triple time as her fight or flight mode switched on. "Ah … Edward can I call you back?"

"What's going on?" She shut the phone without answering.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she yelled.

"Isabella, do you want to introduce me to your friend?" her dad asked.

"Dad, he is not my _friend_."

Robert stuck out his arm. "Robert, Robert Pattinson, Boyfriend Extraordinaire."

"Boyfriend?"

"No, no. The guy on the phone is my boyfriend. This guy is just some jerk I used to date. Go away Robert. No one wants you here."

"I just came for a friendly visit. No harm done. I'll just be on my way." He left with a grin on his face. He loved to see how Isabella could get riled up.

"Why do I think that's not the last I'll be seeing of him?" she said to herself.

"So you have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah Dad."

"Tell me about him."

"Well …" Isabella began to talk with her father about Edward as they took a bike ride around the neighborhood.

After dinner Isabella climbed into bed hoping to dream of seeing Edward again. _Oh man! I forgot to call him back._ She pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Well, well, well. I thought you forgot me," he laughed, but there was a sour note in it.

"I'm so sorry. My ex showed up, but don't worry he's gone."

"Good. I'd hate to feel I have competition."

"Then I went riding with my dad and he wanted to hear all about you. I can't wait to see you Monday. It feels like forever."

"I know what you mean. It's Black Friday tomorrow. Do you have plans to raid any stores?"

"No. There's nothing I really want. Shopping for the sake of shopping is not my style. Especially on Black Friday when you could get killed if you fall down. I mean think about it, is it really worth risking your life just to get a sale."

"If it's a really good sale, maybe," he joked.

"What would be considered a good sale?"

"I don't know. Everything's in my price range." He laughed again. She closed her eyes imagining he was there beside her.

He noticed her silence. "Are you still awake, Isabella?"

"Yeah. I was just picturing you here."

He gave a small chuckle. "You sound tired. It must have been a long day. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Edward." She yawned, shut her phone and went to sleep.

 **._.**

The next morning Isabella awoke with a smile. She dreamt she was back in school and with Edward again. She sat down for a late breakfast with her parents, when there was a knock at the back door. Her mom peeped through the hole and opened it to a spiky-haired male. Isabella knew it couldn't possibly be Edward.

 _Ugh Robert._ She thought they had to be related somehow or some weird genetic fluke.

"What are you doing here again?"

"I told you, I'm visiting. Mr. Swan, Mrs. Swan, it's nice to see you together," he greeted.

"Go visit someone else," Isabella commanded.

"I don't want to. I miss you."

"Oh no. You don't get to say that. And anyway I've moved on. I have a boyfriend who treats me better than you ever did."

"You have a new boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Liar! What's his name?"

"Edward."

"You just made that up."

"Did _not_! Here's a picture of him." She picked up her phone from the charger and navigated through the menu to retrieve the picture.

"That's a picture of us," he said.

"No it's not. You and I were never at the airport together."

"Are you sure?" he mocked.

"Yeah." But she wasn't so sure. They _did_ look very alike and she had never seen them together, but Edward _was_ on the phone with her when Robert first showed up. _There has to be two of them._ "Definitely!"

Her dad took her phone to look at the picture and shared it with his ex-wife. "It is remarkable how this Edward resembles Robert."

"Are you two related?" her mom asked.

"Doubtful. I think people in my family would have mentioned if I had a twin, but I think Isabella's just playing with our heads."

"Why didn't you tell me about Edward?" her mom asked.

"Yeah why is this the first time you mentioned it? Hmmm?" Robert taunted.

"I didn't want to jinx it, you jerk."

Her mom felt the atmosphere grow tense and wished to dispel it. "Honey, are you planning on coming sale hunting with us?"

"No. I'm just going to hang around the house. I'll watch some television or something. There are so many programs I missed while at college."

"Sorry Robert, whoever you are. We need to get ready." Isabella's mom began closing the door.

"No problem."

Her parents left shortly afterwards and Robert knocked on the door again.

"Go away!" Isabella yelled when she saw it was him.

"So, you're dating me without actually dating me," he mocked. "I knew you weren't over me."

"Edward is not you, and you're not even in league with him."

"I got it. You really like this guy. So what does he have that I don't?"

"Ugh."

"Fine. We could still be friends, can't we? We used to be tight you and I. I know, we could go bike riding," he suggested.

"I don't want to do _anything_ with you."

"Come on. I doubt 'what's his name' would want you to be bored while you're here. We'll go to _The Grill_ and have an early lunch. I'm sure the After Thanksgiving Special is great."

"I'm not hungry."

"How about we sit for a movie?" He maneuvered his way inside and spread out on the couch, switching on the cable box and TV. She worried about sitting beside him and his wandering hands.

She picked the lesser of the two evils. "Okay, we'll go out to eat!"

Robert flashed his teeth. "Wonderful."

They sat in the restaurant and ordered the Special, but she didn't take one bite. She felt utterly guilty for even being in Robert's company. Once lunch was over, she asked to go home.

"It wasn't that bad hanging out with me," he concluded.

"You can't even imagine," she mumbled flatly. She pulled herself out of his secondhand convertible and ran for her door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he called out.

"I'm thrilled," she yelled back. She turned around. "Robert ..."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you take a long walk off a short cliff?"

He laughed as he drove away.

 **._.**

Isabella telephoned Edward that night. "Hi Edward, how was your day?"

"It was fine. Lots of meetings. Really boring. What about yours?"

"Annoying. Watched TV. Went out for lunch."

"With your parents?"

"No, just some nobody," she dismissed.

"Aha."

She was silent on the phone. She had uploaded the pictures from her phone to her computer. Clicking through them, she found him.

"Well as fascinating as your voice is, I'm really busy right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow? Unless there is something you need to say?" he questioned. She decided not to worry him about Robert still being around. She'll just grit and bare it.

"No, I just miss you."

"Miss you too."

 **._.**

The next day Isabella found her dad's old baseball stuff in the garage and went out in the backyard. Her dad followed her shortly after. She tossed the ball in the air and tried to swing the bat to hit it. The action reminded her of her carnival date with Edward. "I can't believe you guys still have this stuff."

"Why did you leave it behind?"

"I don't know. You look like you're struggling. I'll pitch," he commented.

"Thanks."

Her dad took the sack of balls to a small distance and was about to toss it when Robert showed up. "Hey could I play?"

"No," Isabella answered.

"Please?"

"Let him play," her dad voiced. "We need someone to fetch the balls."

"Fine." Robert walked out behind her dad.

"Since when did you have an interest to play baseball?" her dad asked.

"Since Edward showed me." Her dad tossed the first pitch. She missed.

"He didn't show you very well."

"Ha-ha. Give me another shot." He gently tossed the ball toward her. She swung and there was a loud crack as the bat hit the baseball. It went straight toward Robert, just missing him by inches.

"Hey, take it easy!"

"Wow!" Her dad was impressed. "Do it again." He grabbed the bag of balls and stepped further back, while Robert retrieved the other ball. As the dad tossed the ball again and again, she hit it far making her ex run all over getting the balls. The next thing the group knew, they had spent the morning and a good part of the afternoon playing a modified baseball game.

The three were laughing as Robert chased her with the ball, when a familiar Volvo pulled into the driveway. Edward stepped out with a critical expression. He wasn't expecting Isabella to be with a guy who so closely resembled him. She saw Edward and stopped short. Robert slammed into her and they tumbled to the ground entangled. She shoved him aside instinctively and stood up.

"Edward?" she said stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you. Looks like I'm the one that got the surprise."

"Hey, I'm Robert." He stood brushing off the dirt from his pants. "And you are?"

"Edward," he said curtly.

"I thought you were working," she claimed.

"And I thought you said he was gone," he responded. His voice was cold.

"I thought he was. He's just visiting," she justified.

Her dad came over. "Hello. I'm Isabella's dad."

"Hello sir." They shook hands.

"So you're the boyfriend. She's told me all about you." He grabbed Robert's shirt to pull him inside. "Let's go Robert."

"But …"

"Move!" her dad yelled. They both entered the house.

"So is he the _nobody_ you had lunch with?" She nodded. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Yes ... at school. I didn't want you to be nervous."

Robert stepped out of her house and came up to them. "Look I get why you're anxious. You're the copy and now she has the original back."

Robert's tone angered Edward. "You wish."

She stared at the two of them in each other's face, practically mirror images and she shivered. "Could you two separate? You're freaking me out."

"No problem," Edward said, and walked back to get into his silver Volvo.

She jumped behind the car. "No, don't leave! Robert, you leave!" she commanded.

"Fine. See you later, Sweetie." Robert spoke in a cutesy voice.

She got into the car.

"I can't believe it! We look the same!"

"I told you."

"I didn't think _that_ the same. I figured it meant I was your type. That was like stepping into the Twilight Zone. You should have told me, especially since he is still around," he reprimanded her.

"I'm sorry."

"Why is he still around? When did you two breakup?"

"This past July."

"So I'm the rebound guy?"

"No! You know I care about you!"

"How am I supposed to believe you? This face, it's _his_ face."

"It's also _your_ face." She put one hand on each side of it. She looked him in his dark eyes and explained, "I never doubted how I felt about you. Even when we were apart for those weeks, I never doubted my feelings for you." She paused, "You and _only_ you." His eyes averted to his lap. "I forgot to give you something before you went on the plane," she said.

"What's that?" his voice still hard. She leaned in and pressed her mouth to his cheek. Her heart beat quickly, but she ignored it. Slowly she moved her lips to his. Her hands slid around his neck. His resolve melted and he slid his arms onto her back, pulling her closer. Her face moved to the side. "It's you, _Edward_. Always." She put her lips back on his. Her tongue touched his lower lip. He wasn't anticipating this type of kiss and he tightened his hold. Fire emanated within them both as the kiss deepened.

There was a knock on the driver-side window and they abruptly pulled apart. Isabella's father stared at them intently. The two quickly exited, pink faced.

"Dad," she rushed.

He waved her off. "Things all better now?"

She took Edward's hand. "Yeah."

"Well the name's Charlie Swan. You could call me Mr. Swan or Charlie, if you prefer."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Edward said while shaking his hand again.

Charlie tensed his forehead. "Aren't you supposed to be in Chicago?"

"Yes, but I couldn't stay away." Edward looked over at her. "Could we go for a walk?"

"Sure, anything."

As they walked, she commented, "You've been using my shampoo. You smell amazing. No wonder you're always sniffing me." He laughed nodding.

When they came to the end of the block he said, "I got you a present. I risked life and limb to get this for you yesterday, although it was Mr. Jay's. He needed the rest of the day off to recover." She looked at the object he held. "Ignore the packaging. It's not what you think."

"I thought you didn't give gifts to girls you date?"

"With you I'll make an exception."

She was breathless. He was holding out a small gray velvet ring box. She took it, smiling as she opened it to see a tiny gold turkey. It had a clasp hooked to the top.

"It's for your charm bracelet," he explained.

"I don't have a charm bracelet."

"You do now." He held out larger red box. Inside was a gold chain bracelet with two charms already attached. "There's one for each month we've known each other." He held out the bracelet and pointed to the ASZ letter charm. "The first one is for September, when we first met at school. The next is for October. It's a fairy, because you wore that on Halloween. You're supposed to add the turkey here for November," he instructed.

She had no words for how this gift made her feel. She had a lump in her throat and her tears threatened to spill.

"Isabella?" He tilted his head.

"I don't know what to say."

"Say thank you."

"Thank you. It's beautiful." He helped her attach the turkey and put the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"It must have cost you a fortune," she guessed.

"I told you. Everything is in my price range. I'm planning to give you one each month we're together until we finish up the year. Then I'll just have to get you something else. An anniversary gift, I guess."

"You really think we'll get a chance to finish it?"

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "You really shouldn't do all that."

"Don't worry about it. I never felt this way about anybody."

She took his hand again, but he pulled her close. He used his other hand to caress her face, going for another kiss. He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist.

The fluttering in her stomach bubbled and she slowly pulled away. "Do you want to meet my mom?"

He looked into her eyes and knew he must've hit her threshold. "Sure."

They walked back to the house where her parents sat sipping drinks at the table.

"Edward this is my mom, Renee Swan." He shook her mom's hand.

"The resemblance to Robert is uncanny," she mumbled.

"Sore subject," the dad said. "So, you two met in school. Isabella never mentioned which class."

"No. She worked for me for a week, showing me around campus. It didn't end well. She quit and we became friends, but then I asked her out."

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" her mom suggested.

"Is Robert going to be here?" he qualified.

"We don't know, he just shows up," Isabella answered.

"Hmm, I would love to stay for dinner."

Robert was absent for dinner and the silence was thick as they ate. When dinner was done, Isabella's dad asked Edward about himself.

"What classes are you taking? I mean you already have a good job. Aren't you just wasting time?"

"Actually, I think college isn't a waste of time at all. I'm taking business classes since I _am_ running a business," he said seriously. "Besides, more people would take me seriously if I had a degree. If you needed a doctor, you would want someone with an M.D. attached to his name. Not just some medicine man. Even if he learned about medicinal herbs his whole life and knew what he was doing, it's a matter of trust, a standard stamp of approval."

"You do have a point."

"Were you together on your birthday? She never likes people to know when it is," her mom commented.

"He knew. He gave me a muffin with a candle in it. It was very thoughtful."

"That's it? No shiny gifts or dinner?" Renee challenged.

"Mom we had only just met at the time," Isabella stated. Edward became confused. He glared at her and she glanced at him shaking her head slightly.

"It's getting late. I have to go back to my hotel. Dinner was delicious," he complimented.

"I'll walk you out." Isabella got up and took the plates to the sink. Then they walked out to the car.

"Why didn't you tell them?" he queried.

"I don't want my mom to push me to like you."

"But you do like me."

"Yeah, but she'll figure gifts for me ... gifts for her. Does the term 'gold-digger' ring a bell?"

"Your mom isn't like that?"

"My mom doesn't have a job. Her only source of income is alimony and her current boyfriend."

He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow." He touched her chin gently with his fingers, got into his car, and drove off. She took a minute then went back inside.

 **._.**

The next day Edward arrived just after breakfast, but so did Robert.

"Hi boys. Isabella went to the store. You both can take a seat in the kitchen. I'm sorry I'm not really sure which one is which," her mom revealed.

"Oh, I'm Edward," Robert uttered.

Edward turned. "What?" surprise colored his tone. "No, _I'm_ Edward."

"You're such a liar!"

"Charlie! We have a problem here," she called out. He came in and quickly examined the situation.

"I'm sure Isabella will straighten everything out when she arrives," he hoped.

"I don't know why you are claiming to be me," Robert stated deceptively. Edward stayed quiet. He knew Robert was just trying to goad him.

Isabella came into the house ten minutes later and stared at the two of them at the kitchen table. She smiled at the sight of the "twins." How likely was it to bump into your doppelganger?

Her mother explained the dilemma. "Could you please tell which one is which?"

"Robert this isn't funny," she said with her back to them both, as she put the milk in the fridge. "You're making Edward angry."

The two boys were quiet. She turned around and stared at each one in turn. She noticed how one's hair was slightly darker, while the other's was a bit longer. Their eyes were also different shades of brown. Their facial bone structure was close, but she saw different placement of their cheekbones and one's nose seemed a bit more upturned.

She walked around the two while they kept still, only shifting their heads minutely in her direction. She took a deep breath behind them steadying herself. Her heart raced. One of these individuals was Robert and she didn't like being this close to him. Then a moment of clarity dawned on her and she walked back around with a smile on her face. "That one is Edward," she pointed.

"Are you positive?" her dad asked.

"A hundred percent."

He grabbed the other one and reprimanded, "You need to leave now."

"But … but, I'm Edward!" He was shoved out the door.

The one still sitting smiled and approached her. "You're _that_ sure?"

She nodded and he leaned in to kiss her. He kept his focus on her eyes until their lips met. Her hands slipped into his as they separated. "That's too bad," he sneered, "because I'm really Robert."

Her mom gasped.

"Is that so?" Isabella joked. "He never kissed me like that. Maybe I should bring the other guy back in and kiss him for comparison."

Edward frowned. "Wait, wait! You got it right."

"I know!"

He turned to her parents. "Do you mind if Isabella and I go for a walk?"

Her mom shook her head, " Go ahead."

As they walked down the street, he asked her how she knew. "You two aren't _exact_ twins and I've been staring at your face for the past few months. Now that I had a good look at the two of you side-by-side, I doubt there will ever be a question from now on."

"Yeah, but you seemed unsure at first. What exactly gave me away?"

She leaned into him and took a deep breath through the nose. "Don't you remember? You smell like my shampoo."

He began to laugh so hard he had to stop walking to catch his breath. She joined in his madness. When they walked back, she decided she had enough of a school break. The two went to their respective home locations to pack and headed back to school in their separate cars following each other.

 **A/N: A bit different from the original. I thought the other way she recognized him was a bit far-fetched, but as a re-read the original story I saw a fairly obvious tell just staring her in the face or rather up her nose.**

 **Send your reviews. I'd love to know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Cullen Home

_A/N: So I see many of you enjoy my story. Don't be shy to tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you._

 _Anyway here's the next chapter. This one's loads different from the original. It also was the last chapter I posted from the story "Important Touch" so this will be the last chapter to compare. The next will be new to you all._

 _My story - Twilight characters._

 **Ch 4 December – The Cullen Home**

December began with a vengeance. It meant the end of the fall semester and finals were coming. Review classes and study sessions were "a regularity" and it made it hard for Edward and Isabella to spend time together. They had casual lunches at first but as finals week approached, Isabella could only spare a very quick bite. She had to run the algebra's study sessions and she was always booked in the tutoring center by all those students who had been slacking off during the semester. Nightly one was always called away to an extra cram session. They didn't even have late night phone calls since they both were always too exhausted from studying so much.

The only thing Edward insisted was they keep Friday night as date night. He knew that Isabella and he needed a break from the craziness of finals coming. This week it was pool. He bent over the billiard table with the cue stick pointed at the aligning balls. He took careful aim as he pulled back to shoot.

"This is ridiculous," she claimed suddenly. Her voice disrupted his shot and the cue ball veered off-course at unusual speed. Instead of the three balls rolling to the corner pocket it headed horizontally and flew right off the table. It touched the eight ball in the process, which headed just short for a hole.

"Isabella! Don't do that!" He searched under the table for the missing ball.

"I should be in my room studying calculus," she continued.

He huffed a breath, retrieved the ball, and put it on the table. "No. You need a break. Believe me you know more than you think." He handed her the cue stick for her turn. "The test is next week. You should be taking it easy."

She just stared at the table of spheres. "What I should've done was take the week off to study. Unfortunately that would hinder me, since I would be missing all the reviews."

"Relax and enjoy the game." He pointed at a striped ball then to the side pocket. She nodded and took aim. "We'll take our finals and be done. Then it will be vacation time again," he grinned.

She took the shot, but missed. "Yeah, the holidays. I didn't even get a chance to shop. All this studying, I'm going to have to give away my brains fried on a platter as Christmas presents."

Edward laughed as he took the long stick from her. "I'm sure whatever you give to people, they will love."

 **._.**

Final's Week began. For two weeks the University assigned one or two tests per day with the rest of the day left to studying. Most students took to either cramming for the next exam or out celebrating with their fellow classmates once the test was over. Since Edward and Isabella shared no classes, they didn't get to see each other until exams were over. He took her out to a dance club.

"How do you think you did?" he asked over the loud music. Their bodies wiggled to the beat. Sweat dripped off several people's faces in the hopping crowd.

"I think you were right about taking it easy. I worried so much for nothing." She moved closer to her partner.

He smiled as he grabbed her hand to maneuver her away from the man doing all the odd jerking motions trying to impress his own date.

"I hope that guy isn't having a seizure," she commented.

"How can you really tell in here?"

She shrugged and they resumed their upbeat motion to the loud music.

"Tomorrow, if you don't mind, don't bother to wake me up. I need to recuperate from all this celebrating," she laughed.

 **._.**

Late afternoon on Sunday Edward called her while he was preparing to leave school for the holidays.

"Are you excited to go home again?" He was going to miss her and wanted to at least hear her voice before the sadness really hit him.

"No. I'm not going home."

"But, it's Christmas. Don't you want to see your mom and dad?" He paused holding his pants in his hand.

"Sure I do, but Dad sent me a letter explaining why he couldn't make it this year and a hundred dollar cash gift card to make up for it. He's planning to visit me sometime during the next semester instead. Phil, I told you about him, my mom's boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"He doesn't want to spend the holiday without my mom, so that means I'll hardly see her. There is no point in going."

"So you're staying here?"

"There are plenty of people that stay during the break."

"I can't let you stay alone. I'll stay too."

"I have a better idea," she lingered for a moment. "What if I go with you to Chicago?"

"You went to come to _my_ home?"

"Sure."

"But what about what you said—being alone with no protection."

"As I recall, you said _you_ would protect me."

He was thoughtful for a second. It seemed something had changed. He didn't know _what_ exactly, but he wasn't going to miss the chance to spend winter break with Isabella. "Okay, I'll get you a ticket, but first I need to tell you something. See, I told you about my stepfather and how awesome he is, but I never mentioned he wasn't the only one to join the family."

"What are you talking about?"

"Carlisle has a son, Josh. I have a stepbrother. I never talked about him, because I like to pretend he doesn't exist."

"Really? Why?"

He paused for a moment. "I have my reasons."

 **._.**

Edward had to exchange his first class ticket for two economy class ones on a later flight. This one was closer to Christmas Eve. It went smoothly, but airports were no one's idea of fun.

"It's sooo cold," Isabella stuttered as they walked off the plane. She wrapped her arms around her body trying to keep warm. She shivered as Edward pulled the two small rolling luggage.

"Didn't you bring a better coat than that?" he asked.

"No. Where in Phoenix do you think they would have coats for Chicago weather?"

He stared at her bag as if he had x-ray vision. "Your wardrobe probably won't be sufficient. We are going to need to shop for better attire. You could go with my mom. She'll love that." They finally came to the terminal where his parents waited.

"Hey guys!" Edward's mom pulled her son into a hug and kissed his cheek. She was a svelte woman with bronze hair and blue eyes. Her cheek bones and nose made her resemble Edward greatly. She was manicured and well dressed. He nodded in her direction. "This is Isabella. Isabella this is my mother, Elizabeth Cullen and my stepdad, Carlisle." Carlisle was a blond with honey eyes. He was tall like Edward and reasonably built.

"It's nice to finally meet you both. Edward has told me so much about you." She shook his mom's hand.

"We'd like to say the same, but he's not much for sharing that aspect of his life," his mom commented.

"Sorry," Edward said. Isabella felt a blush come on as it heated her face.

Elizabeth caught a glimpse of her husband's neck. "Carlisle, why aren't you wearing your medical alert necklace?" she reprimanded. "It's important for people to know you're diabetic in case of emergency."

"It's right here." He pulled aside his collar revealing his necklace. "Do you have to announce it to the whole airport?" He turned to Isabella. "I hate necklaces. Someone could grab it and choke you."

In their haste to make it through the airport quickly, they almost missed the coat retailer before the walkway to the exits. "Look. I guess people lose coats a lot. Now you won't have to freeze." Isabella chose a red wool pea coat that seemed overpriced.

"Look at the price of this," Mrs. Cullen declared. "They're taking advantage of people in emergencies."

"Here, put it on my card."

"No, no Edward. I should pay for it," Isabella argued.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be my Christmas present for you."

"You mean you didn't get her one yet?" his mother commented.

"I … I," he stuttered looking at Isabella.

"Oh-oh. I know someone's in trouble," his stepfather laughed.

"No, it's okay. A coat is fine," Isabella stated.

"Um, Mom when we get back to the house could you take her shopping for some warmer clothes?"

"The mall this close to Christmas? Wonderful," she whined.

 **._.**

At the mall the two ladies sifted through plenty of things to try on. "I can't afford all these, but I can't choose which ones I like best," Isabella said looking in the mirror.

"I think these two sweaters looked great on you."

"And the pants? It sounds weird asking, but does this make my rear look too big?"

The two laughed. "You know I've never been on the other side of that question! Now I know how Carlisle feels. No, you look just fine."

They gathered the articles of clothing that Isabella decided to keep and gave the rest to the dressing room attendant.

As they waited on the immensely long line to pay, Elizabeth stared at her son's girlfriend.

"What?"

"I was just thinking. This must be what it's like …" Isabella looked confused, so she continued, "… to have a daughter."

"Oh!" Isabella looked away for a moment then looked back. "Actually, there is usually a bit more criticizing involved when I'm with my mom." Elizabeth smiled. "You know there's still a chance," Isabella suggested. "You could always try with Mr. Cullen."

"No, there were medical problems I had to deal with after having Edward. I can't have any more children. Edward's father and I wanted to have a boy _and_ a girl, but aah ... He dealt with it by spending a lot of time with Edward at work. That's why Edward is so good at his job. He's been around it since he was little. But me, I just settled with dreaming and wondering."

"Why didn't you guys just adopt?"

"I don't know. I guess we thought we were lucky enough to have Edward."

Suddenly a guy called out from across the store. He had shaggy straight brown hair almost covering his honey brown eyes. He had a round nose and was slender.

"Mom! Hey, Elizabeth!" he called.

"Oh dear. Well here's your chance to meet Josh." Elizabeth waved.

"Josh?"

"Josh, my husband's son. Don't tell me Edward never told you he has a stepbrother."

"Yeah he did, but briefly."

"Makes sense, they don't get along. Actually, I don't think Edward likes him at all."

Josh had made the walk over to them. "Hey Elizabeth, could I have some money for some pants?" He was already holding out his opened palm.

"I gave you some this morning."

"I spent it already."

He looked over at Isabella. "Hello." He turned back to his stepmom. "Who's this?" He took a few steps closer to Isabella. She instantly flinched back not liking the invasion of her space.

"Josh, this is Isabella, Edward's girlfriend."

"Edward's girlfriend? Edward doesn't _do_ girlfriends. He works _all_ the time."

"Well he has one now."

"When did _that_ happen?"

"At school."

"He goes to school?"

"In Arizona."

"He's in college in a different state?"

"And apparently, you didn't even notice," Elizabeth retorted.

Josh glanced back at Isabella. His eyes roamed her body. It made her feel as if he were undressing her. She crossed her arms in an attempt to feel covered up. "You know we share everything," he commented.

"I doubt that," she said flatly.

"And why's that?"

"Because he barely mentioned you," her voice came out harshly.

"Ouch!" he laughed.

It was finally her turn at the cash register.

 **._.**

Isabella found Edward on the couch reading as they came back to the house. "Wow, you're doing something not work-related."

"I can take days off," he justified with a smile. "Come on, I'll show you your room." Her bedroom was the first room at the top of the stairs.

"So I met your brother Josh."

"He is NOT my _brother_ AND Carlisle's son is basically a parasite. So," he changed the subject, "you like your room?" The white room had a full size bed with a blue comforter and linen set. The closet door was beside the white dresser on the left wall from the doorway. The window had a view of the front of the house.

"It's nice. Looks like a comfortable bed. Where's my stuff?" she mused.

"In the closet." He opened its door to show her.

"And where's your room?" she asked casually.

He smiled. He went to the doorway and pointed. "My room is all the way over there. That last door." She was amused at how they were put on opposite parts of the house. "I'll leave you to get ready for dinner."

The dining room table was big enough to fit ten but was set for five. Josh placed himself across from Isabella. He kept on making odd faces at her when Edward wasn't looking. She didn't want to say anything lest there be a fight, but it _was_ making her uncomfortable. She eventually excused herself to go to bed with the idea of coming down later for a snack since she was still hungry.

"Good night, Isabella." She walked up the stairs as the family watched. Josh's eyes wandered to the ceiling and then around the room. "Isn't she great?" Edward asked.

"She's really nice," his mom uttered. "Now what is she doing here?"

"Mom!"

"What? You call us a day before your scheduled flight to tell us you're coming later and bringing a girl home with you. A girl we didn't even know you were seeing." She paused for a moment. "I thought you said you were going to stop all this craziness. Going out of state was a way to get away from all of it."

"I did stop. Mom, you went shopping with her. Does she seem like the others?"

"No … but then again, I never officially met any of them. They could have been just as sweet."

"Look, I brought her home, because I wanted her to meet you, for _you_ to meet _her_."

"Why, is she pregnant?"

"Carlisle!" his wife yelled.

"What? Someone had to ask."

"What happened to the mistletoe?" Josh piped in.

"I took it down," Edward answered in a stiff voice. "I don't want your lips anywhere near Isabella." He looked at his stepdad. "No, she's not _pregnant_. She's special to me. She's an amazing girl and we wanted to spend the holiday together. She's not a floozy, or an idiot. She's not out to use me or take my money. She's just a girl I really care about."

"And it has nothing to do with the way she looks?" Carlisle questioned.

"So she's pretty, beautiful even. She also has a good heart." His head turned toward the stairs. He took a deep sigh. "I love her, but I haven't told her yet."

It was quiet as everyone took in what Edward said.

"You're serious?" his mother questioned.

"Yeah."

"Like how you loved Tanya?"

"No, Tanya was a delusion. She was a dream, but then I woke up. This is for real."

"How do you know?" Carlisle asked.

He shrugged. "I feel it."

"With Tanya you were so sure; you wanted to marry her," his mom reminded him.

"I told you. Tanya was a mistake. There were clues I failed to comprehend," he answered. "In hindsight, I should've seen it coming. But with Dad's death and then you two getting married ..." He paused. "I'm not talking marriage — I know I'm still young, but it's kind of nice to be with someone for a while."

They gave it a moment.

"Well I do have to admit, she could hold her own in a conversation," Elizabeth complimented.

"Thanks. I'm going to bed." He turned to Josh, "You stay away from Isabella." With that he left the room.

"What did I do?" Josh asked innocently.

 **._.**

Isabella drifted off before she had a chance for late night snacking. Unfortunately, about 3:00 am she woke in a cold sweat. Her heart pounded so fast, she thought it would break through her chest. She had a dream about Josh dressed as Santa and was dropping off presents. He had snuck into her room and ogled at her exposed limbs.

When she had a nightmare as a child before her dad left, she found comfort in sleeping between her parents. Their arms would encircle her and she knew she was safe. She looked around her darkened room. Shadows formed images her imagination turned scary. With her heart still running a marathon, she put her robe on and tip-toed through the walkway counting the doors to Edward's room as quietly as she could. She knocked gently and walked in.

She flicked the light on to get the layout of the room and identify if he was present. She closed the light, took off her robe, and climbed into his bed. He rolled over a little in his sleep. She looked into his sleeping face. There was only one way she was going to feel safe like she did as a child. She felt for his hand and pulled his arm casually over her.

His eyes opened. "Isabella? What are you doing?"

She didn't speak.

"Isabella what's wrong? Why are you shaking?"

"Nightmare," she said in a whisper.

He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. "It's okay. I'll keep you safe." He could feel her heart begin to slow down as her trembling stopped and eventually she fell asleep. He lay there staring at her. He couldn't sleep with her so close. This behavior was odd for her, _not that he was complaining_. His mind wondered what could possibly scare Isabella so much that _an_ _embrace_ would _calm_ her down.

About seven in the morning she began stirring and he stroked her hair. Her eyes opened to his concerned face.

"Good morning." His voice was soft. "Could you explain what happened last night?"

"Were you awake this whole time?" she asked in response.

"Yes. You were shaking like crazy. It freaked me out." He could tell she was better, so he revealed a smirk. "Besides, with a girl in their bed, who would want to sleep?"

"Edward."

There was a knock at the door and his mom entered just as Isabella ducked under the covers. His mom paused for a moment then mumbled, "Sure … not like the others."

"You know Mom, when you knock you're supposed to wait until I say 'come in'."

"I just wanted to let you know breakfast is ready. Let Isabella know when she … surfaces."

"Nothing happened, Mom."

"Right." She shook her head slowly. "I just hope you guys were safe."

She left reluctantly closing the door behind her.

"Your family's going to think I'm easy." Isabella's voice came up from under the blanket.

"Don't worry about what they think." He sat up on the bed and pulled the cover away from her. She sat up too. "Last night you said you had a nightmare. What could have scared you that badly?"

"Not a what, _a who_ ," she explained. "Josh."

His face grew severe. "What did he do?"

"He didn't really do anything. You know me. Strange boys and touching, I'm terrified. You're the only thing familiar here. You said you would protect me. With you I feel safe."

"Oh, Isabella …" He was surprised she admitted that.

Her eyes dropped to his bare chest. "You sleep with no shirt on?"

His expression softened. "Just pajama bottoms. And speaking of pajamas, yours are interesting," pointing to her long pink Jersey shirt. She lifted her hand hesitantly and touched the muscles of his chest lightly. His hand rested on top of hers holding it to his chest. He leaned closer, but it was she that brought their lips together. His kiss was stronger than usual and he pulled back looking into her eyes.

"You should leave. Go down for some breakfast."

"Yeah," she whispered as she nodded.

He went for another kiss and her breath caught. Her heart responded and she melted down to his pillow. He was pressed on top of her when she caught her senses. She moved her face to the side. "Edward."

He rolled away from her. "Right." He was breathless. "Go. I'll join you shortly."

She got up slightly dizzy, put on her robe and left the room. Josh was in the hall just coming from the bathroom.

He snickered, "Looks like Edward got his Christmas present early this year." Her face became tomato red.

 **._.**

After placing some wrapped items under the tree, Isabella went to sit at the table to have some pancakes. Edward came in five minutes later. He took some waffles from the tray and sat across from her. He kept his focus on his food. She changed her seating to be beside him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"It's fine. No harm, no foul."

"I knew I was irresistible," he joked. "But seriously, we have to be more careful. No more bedroom alone time."

They both looked down at their plates.

"I kind of liked it."

He snickered back, "And to think, a few months ago you barely wanted me to touch you."

She giggled back wondering, _what_ _happen to that girl?_

"You stay out of my room and I'll keep my shirt on," he uttered. She nodded.

Josh came in to join them for breakfast. He watched them from across the table neither one lifting their head. "Good morning. So, I take it last night wasn't as thrilling as you were expecting."

"What is he talking about?" Edward directed to his girlfriend.

"He saw me leave your room this morning."

"It's none of your business, Josh." He gave Josh a cold sneer and Isabella got up to leave. "What's wrong with you?" Edward directed to him and then followed her out.

"I was just asking a simple question," he chortled.

Edward stood with her in the living room. "Don't listen to that jerk. He has a maturity level of a six year old."

"Still," she asked, "Could we go somewhere?"

"Sure. You want to go to the mall? Today is the last day for last minute shopping."

"It's the twenty-fourth Edward. The mall will be packed. I just want to take a walk. You could show me your neighborhood. I'd love to hear how things were when you grew up here."

"I was usually at work with my dad, but I can remember some things. Come on. I'll show you the park."

Edward and Isabella reached the kids playground a few blocks away in no time. He pointed out the places where his family had sat for a picnic and where he first made it through the monkey bars. There were children laughing all around them bundled up in coats thicker than Isabella was used to. She donned her gloves while Edward tried warming her hands with light friction.

"It's so cold. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Where is the sun? All I see are grey clouds."

"The forecast said it was supposed to snow, but I don't know if it is coming."

"It feels like I'm sitting in the freezer. The air hurts my face."

"I used to love it when my parents brought me here. I had forgotten how much," Edward reminisced. "One time when I was still in elementary, a boy brought his dog. It was this big puppy, but I forgot what breed. He let everyone play with him. I was never allowed a pet that roamed around the house, so that was my only experience of having a dog. It was awesome."

"It must have been nice."

They took a walk to a coffee house with internet service so Edward could get some work done via the World Wide Web and Isabella could get warm with some hot chocolate. Every so often he would peek at her talking to the other patrons of the place. She would glance his way and they would share a smile. He liked that she was comfortable keeping herself social. As long as no one touched her she was fine. The day grew into night and they headed home for dinner. Isabella kept her attention on her boyfriend and was able to sleep soundly that night.

 **._.**

It was Christmas morning and the house was buzzing with Christmas spirit. "Good morning and a Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Isabella greeted back in the dining room. "How did you sleep, Mr. Cullen?"

"I barely slept a wink. This is my favorite time of year. Santa and sleigh bells, it brings back so many memories of my youth, but I won't burden you with any. That's what wives are for."

"My ears are burning. Was someone mentioning me?"

"Yes I was. Merry Christmas!" Carlisle hugged his wife. "I think we should do presents after breakfast."

"Good idea. Isabella could you tell the boys when they come down?"

"Sure." She entered the kitchen to take a seat and have some pancakes. A few minutes later Edward came in to have his waffles.

"Happy holidays. How'd you sleep? No nightmares I hope."

"Nope, just visions of sugar plums dancing in my head."

"Good."

Josh walked in to the kitchen yawning his good mornings.

"Morning Josh and happy holidays. Your parents told me to tell both you guys they want to open gifts right after breakfast."

"Oooh presents!" Josh made a run out the kitchen.

"Parasite," Edward swore under his breath. "You done?"

"Yeah," she answered. The two entered the living room to find his parents dividing the gifts into piles.

"Good, now we could start. Wait, where's Josh?" Carlisle asked.

"We thought he was coming in here."

"Should we wait for him?" Josh's dad asked.

"Why bother? He'll be here soon. He knows we're doing the presents." Both Edward and his girlfriend took a seat on the couch.

Elizabeth opened her first present. It was from Isabella. She pulled the wrapping paper away and lifted the cardboard box lid.

"It's not a real diamond," Isabella said when she lifted the gold heart-shaped locket with the cubic zirconia in the center. "It's so you could put a picture of someone special in it. I think every mom should have one."

Elizabeth teared slightly. "Thank you, Isabella." She glanced over to Edward and he smirked.

He leaned over to whisper in Isabella's ear. "That was such a nice gift. How did you know what to get?"

"I had a feeling," she murmured.

His stepfather was next. It was a gold chain bracelet with hooks for clasps.

"It's meant to attach to a medical alert plate. Edward told me your worry with necklaces. I thought this would be better."

"Thanks."

Edward took his turn. It was a black soft leather wallet with a thick chain attached to it. It had a special piece to link to a belt. "I noticed you needed a new wallet. The chain will prevent any theft, so you won't lose what's inside."

He unfolded the wallet and spread the pocket wide. Inside he found a gold plated picture of him with Isabella.

"Wow, thank you." He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"You're welcome."

"My turn." He moved to under the tree and got a small box that went unnoticed. He handed it to her. "From me to you."

"I thought you already got me a gift — the coat, remember?"

His mother gasped as Isabella pulled out a small velvet box from under the wrapping while Edward was still on the floor by the couch.

He rose to sit. "It's not what you think," he said to his mom.

Isabella smiled. "I know. This is my charm." She opened it to a golden gift box. "Whoa, festive. It can open like a real present. That's so cool. Could you attach it, please?"

"What is that?" Edward's mom watched as he placed the charm on Isabella's bracelet.

"It's a charm bracelet. Edward gave it to me last month. There's a charm here for each month we had been together." Isabella placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." She snuggled into him and he placed his arm around her again.

"No. Thank you."

He turned to his parents. "The red envelops are from me."

His mom opened hers first. "I can't believe it. A membership to the spa," her eyes were wide with awe.

"I've seen how you cringe at Carlisle's massages for you. I thought you might want a real one," he explained.

Carlisle chuckled and opened his envelope. It contained a membership to the gym. "Thank you, Edward."

"This way you have somewhere to go when Mom is at the spa."

"Our turn," Elizabeth handed a thick envelope to Isabella. "It's for the both of you."

She opened it and pulled out a voucher for round trip tickets to New York for next week.

"New York?"

"To see the ball drop for New Year's," she clarified. "We had to track down our travel agent, but we got it."

"Omigosh! Really!" Isabella jumped up and hugged her. "Thank you so much. Both of you."

"Yes, you're welcome." Elizabeth patted her back awkwardly until Isabella let go.

"Wow, Mom. Wow!" He turned toward his girlfriend. "You want to do this? Fly to New York December thirty-first and back again January first. That's a lot of holiday airport time."

"Come on. It's a great idea. An overnight trip. We could pack light," she tried to convince him.

"Okay, but I have to clear the work schedule to free up the days."

"You were going to work on New Year's?" she asked.

"It's not a vacation every day when running a business."

Josh walked in slowly. "You started without me?"

"Where did you go?"

"I was looking for something. Where are my presents?" He glanced at the group beginning with Isabella.

"Sorry, I didn't even know you existed until _just_ before coming here," Isabella muttered.

"I wasn't planning to give you a gift," Edward said when Josh glimpsed at him.

"Don't worry, Honey. We have presents for you," Elizabeth said sympathetically. He smiled and sat down.

"Parasite," Edward uttered under his breath.

"I found what I was looking for. I got something for _you_ , Edward." Josh handed a video to him. "It's the video of you and Tanya."

Edward's face whitened.

Isabella noticed his mortification and said horrified, "What video with you and Tanya?"

"It's aah ..."

She got up and left the room. He ran after her.

"It's nothing. I forgot it existed," he tried to calm her. They were now in the dining room.

"What's on that tape?" she voiced acerbically.

"I told you I liked her a lot. Well ... don't freak, but even though we were eighteen, I was going to propose."

She relaxed a little. "The expression you gave, I thought it was a ... I can't even say it."

"What?"

Her face heated and a blush began to form. "A sex tape."

"You think I would tape something like that?"

"I don't know! Josh might. He had the tape."

"I set up the video camera to tape me _proposing_. The dining room table was covered with flower petals. I had gone to the bathroom, because I was so nervous. She came over and Josh let her in. She thought he was trying to romance her and she was kissing him when I walked in."

"Oh, no."

"I assume the whole thing was caught on tape; I never actually watched it. She claimed he made a pass at her and I kicked her out."

"Did you believe Josh provoked it?"

"If he did or didn't, it didn't matter. She was responding."

"So, that's why you don't like him. He messed it up for you." He just shrugged.

"You see, my dad had died a year and a half earlier and my mom had just married Carlisle. She was so happy with him. I wanted to marry Tanya to have some of that happiness." His eyes expressed his sorrow. "Josh found the video recording later and used to threaten to embarrass me. I swallowed my pride. I put all my effort into my dad's business. I had just graduated high school and my heart was broken. I became cold and able to separate any emotions from the business. People trusted me even though I was young. The business's profits increased and had ever since. In the end, what happened was a good thing."

She thought for a second. "So what happened in October? You said you came here, but you're playing catch up."

His eyes dropped. "When we were apart, I couldn't function at all. I couldn't do anything. I would just sit alone — usually at my dad's grave and think what I could've done wrong. Then I realized, I didn't — _you_ did. You panicked and I knew I had to get back."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that." For her, October had become a sour subject so she changed it. "Why doesn't Josh get a job?"

"I think he figures he could coast. It makes me so angry. This house, the money in my mom's pocket, _I_ put it there. If he even worked at a fast food place, it would mean he was _earning_ something."

Edward looked directly into her face. "You know, I decided something that Halloween." Isabella sighed and looked at the floor. He wasn't going to allow the subject change. "I wasn't going to let the girl I love get away again."

Her eyes lifted to find the truth in his. "Love?" she whispered. She grinned as if it were a joke. "Don't be absurd."

"Why?"

"Well because you and I were still new. Besides, how could you love someone who won't let you touch her?"

He took his palm and placed it softly by her cheek, fingering her hair. Her face sunk into it as her eyes closed. "You let me touch you."

Her heart beat, but it had occurred to her it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact she really enjoyed the feeling of his hand against her. She pulled away from him to look at his face. Her head filled with her epiphany. "I think I missed the moment when that stopped bothering me."

He gazed at her. "You mean I could just—" His hands lifted to her face and brought it closer as he focused on her lips. Their faces connected as his hands held her there. He pulled away panting. "And I don't have to worry about you freaking out?"

"You just told me you love me. Believe me — I'm freaking out."

"Deep breaths," he commented as he smiled. "As I was saying, I'm not letting you get away. I was hoping that we would, you know, end up together."

"But we are together."

"No, I mean forever."

Isabella's heart sped up and her stomach tied itself into an uncomfortable knot. She looked around to see if anything was recording or decorated. "Are you proposing?"

"No." He gave a nervous snort. "Of course not." He looked away.

She looked at him and using her hand she palmed his cheek to look at her. She spoke gently. "Because, I haven't finished school yet. I haven't seen the world. I'm too young to plant my feet on the ground and ... and ..."

"And what?"

She shrugged. "My mom dropped out of school to have me. She's nothing but a housewife, minus the being a wife part, supported by the men she dates and my dad."

"Isabella," he said excited. "You could be anything you want to be."

"Well duh!" she uttered back. "That's why I'm in collage." They both laughed.

"Let's get back." He took her hand, but she didn't move.

"Edward."

"Yeah."

"I love you, too."

He gazed into her eyes. "Really?"

She nodded as his thumb came up to finger her lower lip.

Something in the window caught her attention. "It's snowing." She walked over to get a better look.

He stared at her profile as she glanced in wonderment at the falling snow. "Haven't you seen snow before?"

"Only on television."

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

She turned to him with a big smile on her face and nodded.

They went to put on an extra layer of clothes and their coat. It took her a while to teach her, but they made a big snowman and then joined the neighborhood snowball fight. Forts were built and children viciously attacked each other. With bombarding balls thrown at astronomical speeds and numbers, they were all soaked by nightfall.

 **._.**

"That was the best time, ever. Too bad you have to work tomorrow," Isabella said at the dinner table.

"If you want you could come to the office tomorrow and see what I do."

"Really?"

"Sure."

That night everyone stayed in their rooms and Isabella had beautiful dreams about enjoying the snow.

 **._.**

Edward and Isabella had a quick breakfast and headed to his office. He introduced her to everyone and she finally met Mr. Jay. He had short well gelled, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He looked younger than he was and dressed in a shirt and tie, not unlike Edward's.

"So, you're the girl that I have to compete with for Edward's time," Mr. Jay resolved. He's always raving about you to me. I feel like I already know you."

"Thank you for the job opportunity in September. If it wasn't for you, I would never have met him."

"Oh, so this is my fault?"

She giggled. "I was just wondering."

"Uh-hm, about?"

"Why does he call you _Mister_ _Jay_? Is that your real last name?"

"Well, _Mister Jay_ sounds cool. Edward likes to call Gianna and me by our first names. It means he holds us to a higher status, she being his personal secretary and I his right-hand man. I help run the company from this end. Gianna, though, could never bring herself to call Edward by his first name. Since I'm second in command, everyone else calls me Mr. James, which is funny, Jay James.

"Mr. Jay, where _is_ Gianna?" Edward mused.

"Snowed in."

"Great, now I have no secretary." He stared curiously at Isabella. "Oh Isabella, I know you didn't actually come to work, but do you have any experience as a secretary?"

"Some. What would I have to do?"

"You would answer the phone and press the intercom to tell me who is on the line. If I want to talk, you press the 'transfer' button to send the phone call through," he explained. "If you don't want to, it's fine. I could still give you a tour of the place."

"It seems easy enough. I could do some faxing, copying, and typing too. In college those skills are required to function."

He smiled. "We'll see how it goes. You sit here. My office is behind you. No one is allowed in without being announced."

"Got it."

She sat down and he went into his office. The phone rang. She stared at it for a moment, took a breath and answered. "Mr. Masen's office. He is busy at the moment. Who may I say is calling?"

There was a mumble on the line.

"Hold on, please." She put the caller on hold and pressed the intercom. "Mr. Masen, it is Mr. Bradley on line one."

" _Mr. Masen_ huh?" he chuckled. "Thank you, _Miss Swan_. Put him through."

After about half an hour, he gave her some papers to type and fax to clients.

"Thank you, _Miss Swan_ ," he smiled. The other secretaries in the room glanced at each other.

A few minutes later a woman in her late twenties with blonde streaked hair and a business suit accentuating her curves came in. "Are you zee temp?" She had a French accent.

"I guess I am," she answered.

"'Ave Mr. 'Enry sign zees by 5:00 pm." She handed the papers over.

"Okay, what are they?" Isabella glanced through them.

The woman slammed her hand down pinning the pages down to the desk. "Zat iz not your beeziness. Zey are important," she said rudely.

"Well if you tell me _what_ they are, I would see _if_ they are. Because if something is important to you, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is important to me," Isabella fired back.

" _Excusez moi!_ I could 'ave you fired," the woman roared.

"I like to see you try." Isabella's voice stayed even. A red-headed secretary came over to the woman and whispered in her ear. The woman froze for a minute then sneered.

"Eet must be very securing when you're sleeping wiz zee boss."

"What!"

"Just 'ave zem signed." The woman left as abruptly as she entered.

"Don't mind what she said," the redhead told her. "She has a thing for Mr. Masen."

"Oh."

"I'm Maggie O'Hare." She held out her hand. "Mr. Masen is quite a catch. You're lucky to catch his eye."

Isabella shook her hand. "I doubt he would've dated her. She's not his type."

"Well actually she's exactly —" Maggie stopped short of finishing her sentence. "You know what, it's not my business. You're his girlfriend. I'm sure you know exactly what he likes." She left her sitting at her desk in a thoughtful daze.

At lunchtime Edward paged Isabella through the intercom. "Miss Swan, could you come in here, please?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Masen."

"How's it going out there?" he asked.

"Smoothly," she answered with a professional tone.

"I heard there was a confrontation."

"I handled it."

He smiled. "Well, you're doing a great job."

"Thank you."

"I might just give Gianna the week off."

"Sorry, but I don't think I could do another day here," she apologized.

"Oh? Well, okay. I need you to do two things for me, and then we could get lunch. Bring in the papers Mademoiselle Chantal needed me to sign and schedule a business dinner for six couples at _Gustavo Cuisine_. The number is in the Rolodex icon on the computer."

"Sure thing."

"Thank you," he said as she exited.

 **._.**

Edward and Isabella walked in very late from the business dinner. They were so exhausted, they mumbled goodnight as they went straight to their rooms. She hung up the dress she bought during lunch. She lay in bed with her thoughts about what the rude woman said. She eventually drifted off to sleep.

 _Isabella was in the middle of changing in her bedroom. She was only wearing a black bra with her pajama bottoms. She rummaged through the dresser drawers for some clothes, when someone stepped behind her. His hand grazed her shoulder and down her arm. At first she was frightened, but she saw it was Edward and relaxed. His face was very serious. He lifted his hand again to her shoulder. This time the bra strap was hooked onto his finger and slipped down. His hand came to cup her exposed breast and he leaned in to kiss her. In a flash his shirt was off and they were on her bed making out. They were rolling around with articles of their clothing littering the floor._

It was three in the morning when Josh was heading back to bed after getting a snack. He heard noise coming from behind Isabella's door. Curious he came close to listen in.

"Edward, ooh Edward."

"Not again," he chuckled. "Doesn't he get enough of her?"

"Edward, Edward."

He couldn't help but guffaw loudly.

Mrs. Cullen heard Josh's laughter and came out to see. "What are you doing?"

"Listening to Edward make Isabella happy," he whispered.

"What!" she practically yelled. She lowered her voice. "I thought they were going to behave."

"Edward," they heard the voice moan.

"Oh my! We can't stand here. Go back to bed," his stepmom instructed in a loud whisper.

"What is all the whispering about?" Edward yawned as he came out of his bedroom.

"Shit!" Josh swore. "If you're out here, who is in there with Isabella?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ooh, Edward." They all turned to the door.

"She's must be dreaming!"

They were all frozen.

"Maybe we should wake her. She might be embarrassed in the morning," Edward rationalized.

"Are you sure you want to ruin her dream?" Josh chortled.

"Stop it," Edward whispered.

"Well then go ahead lover boy, be our guest." Josh gestured with his hands to enter.

Edward carefully opened her door. The other two went back to bed as he walked in. He knelt down by her bed and whispered, "Isabella, wake up."

"Mmm, Edward," she said in her sleep. He broke into a smile.

"Isabella, Isabella." He shook her lightly by the shoulder.

She opened her eyes slightly and saw his face. "Edward," she mumbled and her arms reached out connecting her face with his.

He returned the kiss before he realized he was taking advantage. "Isabella," he bid, gently pushing her off. "Isabella, stop. You're talking in your sleep."

"Huh?" Her eyes blinked opened. She rubbed at them before looking at the dim surroundings. "I was ... Oh no!" she whispered.

"Oh yes," he said with a quiet chuckle. "You were so convincing Josh freaked when he saw I wasn't actually in here with you."

Her face whitened in embarrassment. She turned her body to face the ceiling. "Could you just," she tried to swallow the lump now in her throat, "leave."

"Okay, yeah. I'll be on my way," he whispered. He got up and made like he was going to kiss her forehead. She turned away from him. He nodded and walked out.

 **._.**

In the morning Edward was in the kitchen preparing some breakfast, when Isabella silently walked in.

"Edward, is it possible you could take me to a hotel for the remainder of vacation or maybe to the airport and I'll go back to school?" she whispered.

"Why would you ..." he began, but then he noticed the same expression from last night in her eyes. "Yeah I could take you to a hotel."

 **._.**

Edward parked his car in front of the hotel by the airport. "Are you sure you want to stay here?" he asked.

"You don't understand. That dream, it was very personal. I wouldn't want anyone to know." Tears were swelling in her eyes.

"What I don't understand is why when my mom caught you in my bed before, thinking we had done something, it didn't bother you, like water off a duck's back. But now, when it's clear nothing happened, you want to leave?"

"The other day it was just a kiss, but Edward this was full blown you and me _and_ your family heard it!"

"But we didn't really …"

"Edward," she pleaded.

"I'm just stating the obvious."

"It felt real to me. Did everyone really hear me?"

"Just Josh and my mother."

"Your mother!" her tone was panicked.

"Look, Josh will be Josh and my mother won't say anything. She's cool. Remember what she said before? She just hoped we were being safe. Those dreams are normal, it happens. It's not like you were broadcasted to all of Chicago."

"You know it's not just your family making assumptions. The people at your office think I'm 'doing' you."

"Really? I never said anything to anyone."

"Doesn't change their theories," she stated.

"Is that why you didn't want to go back?"

"Yes. Because of my contact problem, I've always been a good girl. I came to spend time with you. I didn't realize I'd get a reputation. The way that woman spoke to me and the looks I got, I couldn't get that out of my head before I went to sleep. It's probably what sparked the dream."

"So that was that your first time? I mean _dreaming_ it?"

"My first everything."

"Great! The first time you and I ... and _I wasn't even there_ ," he jested.

Her face reddened a little, but still broke into a small smile.

He continued, "You know the worst thing is? I don't think I will ever be as good as you dreamt."

She quietly laughed as her grin enlarged.

He took her hand. "Please come back. I'll do my best to stay out of your dreams."

She frowned and reluctantly agreed. "Okay."

 **._.**

When Edward drove up the driveway of the house, his mom quickly put on a coat to greet them. "So you changed your mind?"

"Yeah, well if you're still willing to have me," Isabella uttered shyly. Her eyes were towards the ground.

"Mom, give her a break." To Isabella he said, "I have to go to work. Will you be okay for a couple of hours?"

"I guess I'll be fine," she answered. "I'll just lay low, maybe veg out."

 **._.**

Isabella sat on the couch flipping through the channels already bored by late morning.

Josh came in and sat beside her. She shifted over, not wanting him to be so close. He quietly spoke. "I didn't know you could become so embarrassed. You're _not_ like his other girls."

She turned her head to face him. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. No one really wanted you to leave. It's nice to have a new face around here."

She gave a critical once over but, he seemed sincere.

"Just forget about it." She turned back to the television and continued her channel surfing.

"So, aside from the mishap, are you enjoying your vacation?"

"I guess." She gave a sigh.

"What?"

"There isn't much to do. What is there to do out here?"

"Well when the weather's nice, I play street hockey with some of the guys from the neighborhood or go to the mall. Most of the time, though, I'm bored out of my mind. I actually hate it," he admitted.

She turned back toward him, curiosity getting the better of her. "If you don't like it, why don't you enroll in school? You could take a few classes just to pass the time. Or you could get a job."

"Yeah I'm sure that would ball over well. I'm trained for nothing."

"Maybe you could get a part time job at the food court in the mall. I doubt you need much experience for that. I used to do that at the university."

"I'm certain my family would just _love_ seeing me in a hairnet, because I don't embarrass them enough," he mumbled.

"No, really. Edward even said any job you got would make him happy."

"Edward really said that?"

She nodded.

He pondered about it for a couple of minutes. "Would you help me?"

"Sure. If you want, we could go right now. It's not lake there is anything else to do." They got up and headed to the door.

"We're going to the mall," he told Elizabeth as they passed her in the kitchen.

"Wait, with Isabella?" She wiped off her hands, but they had gone before she could stop them. Worry engrossed her face.

 **._.**

It was about lunchtime and Josh stepped up to the first food counter.

"Hey, do you have a job available," he asked.

"Not now we are very busy," the man remarked from behind the counter. The same response occurred for the next restaurant. Isabella walked up the third and whispered to Josh to let her try.

"Excuse me, but I noticed you are very busy and possibly short-handed. We were wondering if you could use a couple more." She gestured to herself and Josh. The man behind the counter waved them in. "Sure." He pointed to go to the back, to the manager.

"Do you have any résumés?" the manager asked.

"Ah no, but you could try us and see if it works out," she suggested.

"We can't have any mistakes. It's our rush time. You sure you could assemble a burger?"

"Not a problem."

The manager contemplated for a second. "Fine." They filled up some basic employment forms and he showed them how to assemble each kind of burger. He also gave them a poster with the burgers and their names, in case they forgot. All the workers, including Isabella and Josh, worked successfully side-by-side.

 **._.**

"You two did a great job today. Come in tomorrow and we could fill out some more paperwork to make the job official." He handed them each a paycheck with the fast food restaurant's logo on it.

"I can't believe it, my own money. I mean it's not very much, but it's still mine." Josh marveled.

"What are you going to do with it?" Isabella asked.

"Well first I'm going to get something really cool and rub it in my friends' faces."

"Really?"

"Heck no! I worked hard to get this. I'm saving this for something really special."

She smiled. They got into his Mercedes and drove back to the house.

When they walked in, his stepmom took Josh aside. "What's wrong with you? You know you're supposed to stay away from her. Are you trying to provoke Edward?"

Isabella figured from the intense whispers that something was wrong. She called Edward's cell phone, but he told her in a tense voice, he was almost home and wanted to talk to her in person. She went to wait outside.

As he drove up, he turned into the driveway and shut off the engine. He took a moment before he climbed out of the car slamming the door shut. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You disappeared _with_ _Josh_."

"Oh!" She smiled and hugged him hoping to calm him down. "You'll never believe me." She took out her paycheck and showed it to him.

"You got a job?" he asked furrowing his brows. " _Why?"_

"The thing is Josh has a check _Just. Like. This,_ " she beamed.

"Josh got a job? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Nope."

"You went with Josh to the Mall to get him _a job_?"

She nodded. "He wanted one."

"You're right, I don't believe it."

"But it's true."

Edward walked into the house with a stern face. Isabella was hidden behind him. He looked straight at Josh. Josh trembled with worry. He knew he was supposed to stay away from Isabella.

Edward's rigid face melted and his mouth curved slowly into a smile. "You did good, man."

Josh grinned in relief. "You should've seen how this girl convinced the manager to give us a chance."

"You are amazing," Edward said taking her hand.

At the dinner table both Josh and Isabella ate salad. They had enough meat for one day.

 **A/N: Well did you like this better? Read & Review.**


	5. Chapter 5 - New Year's

_A/N: I guess you were all waiting a while for this. Well here goes._

 _Disclaimer: this is mine, that is yours and Stephenie Meyer gets the credit._

 **Ch 5 January – New Year's**

Over the next couple of days Josh woke up early, enthusiastic about going to work. Isabella decided to join him since no one would be in the house to entertain her.

"How do you think you'll do tomorrow at work?" Isabella asked while stacking the buns.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"Edward and I are leaving for New York in the morning to see the ball drop at Time Square."

"You're not going to be here for two days?" His voice conveyed sadness.

"Technically, it's only for half the day tomorrow. January first the place it closed."

"What if I mess up and then you're not even here to help me?"

She began to giggle at his panic, but then she noticed something familiar, but weird in his eyes. She needed to look away. "Um, I'm sure I'll be fine."

 **._.**

In the morning she and Edward left to the airport. She was so excited she bounced at her heels. The flight was crowded and the airport in New York was worse, but the two wouldn't let that get them down. They took a cab to the city and enjoyed all the sights Manhattan had to offer. When it started getting dark, they picked the perfect place to wait out the ball. Isabella was standing on a street light pole to be above the crowd. As midnight finally approached, the crowd counted down the seconds.

"5...4...3...2...1... Happy New Year!" they all shouted. The ball blinked the numbers of the New Year flawlessly. Edward held out his arms to help her down and pulled her into a massive kiss.

"Happy New Year," he said when he freed her.

She smiled, "Happy New Year."

They walked around holding hands watching people celebrate. Bits of confetti carpeted the ground and everywhere they looked people with funny glasses or hats were kissing or humming to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". They stepped into a bar to sit for a bit and warm up.

"Could I ask you something?" she queried with a serious note.

"Anything."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but do you think Josh could fall for me?"

Edward lost his smile, "Why would you ask that?"

"It's just the way he looked at me last before we left. It was kind of the way you look at me."

He didn't know what to say. His anger burned at his face, brightening his already cold reddened cheeks. He paused for a moment trying to think clearly. He didn't want to unnecessarily assume anything. "I'm sure you're mistaken." The subject changed and he didn't allow himself to be too concerned. Isabella loved him and that's all that mattered.

Eventually, they were able to hail a cab and headed back to the airport. Their flight was unfortunately delayed to the morning due to stubborn frost on the wings. Dead tired, they found a place in one of the terminals and made themselves comfortable. Edward set his alarm on his cell and within minutes they both were asleep.

Early in the morning Edward glanced through all the pictures he'd taken the day before on his digital camera. A loud beeping from his phone announced the time was getting close to boarding, so he woke Isabella up.

"Sweetie, wake up. It's time to move."

She slowly got up and gathered her things. She tugged at her throat and tried to swallow. As they waited on the line to give their ticket, Edward kissed her and snapped a picture of it. She smiled, but then frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just so tired," she muttered. "I couldn't relax enough to sleep well. I was so worried we'd miss our flight.

"Me too, even with my alarm set."

When they sat in their seats on the plane, she put her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He felt heat radiating from her face. He put his opened palm by her forehead and then by her cheek. He knew what that was. She was running a fever. He raised his arm up to flag down the flight attendant.

"Could you, please, bring me some ibuprofen or acetaminophen and some Ginger Ale?" he asked.

"As soon as we take off," the flight attendant answered.

"Have a headache?" Isabella mumbled.

"No. You feel feverish," he told her.

"No wonder I'm so hot."

She tried to remove her coat, but he didn't let her.

"You could be sweating under there. I don't want you to get the chills." They compromised by taking off her coat, but using the blanket provided to cover her up.

Isabella started coughing as the plane took off.

The attendant brought some individually wrapped acetaminophen and some Ginger Ale.

"Isabella, here's some medicine for your fever." She tried to rip open the package, but she was so weak. He took the package from her and opened it using his teeth. He noticed she had a medical alert bracelet on.

 _Allergic to Penicillin,_ it read. He placed the pills in her mouth and tried to get her to swallow them with the Ginger Ale.

 **._.**

When they got to Chicago O'Hare, Edward called his mom to bring his car so he could take his girlfriend to the doctor. She was barely able to walk off the plane into the airport. He also called his physician, asking if he could open his office for an emergency case. Luckily the doctor agreed. The Cullens came in two separate cars, so they could take the luggage home while Edward took Isabella to the doctor.

Fortunately, Edward found Isabella's insurance card in her purse and helped her to the examination table. She barely opened her eyes while she let out a painful cough. After careful examination and the use of a rapid strep test, the doctor determined she had a severe case of strep throat.

"Mr. Masen, your girlfriend is positive for strep. I'm going to need to swab your throat; you've been exposed." He was also positive.

"I'll give you some antibiotic samples, because you'll never find a pharmacy opened today. Is either one of you, allergic to any medication?"

"We're both allergic to penicillin."

The doctor gave him azithromycin tablet samples.

"Now, you will still be contagious for twenty-four hours after taking the medication, so be careful about exposing others. Wash your hands before touching anything, because those nasty bacteria could live on objects for a while."

"Right, whatever." Edward tried but couldn't revive Isabella. He lifted her up, carrying her to the car. "Come on Isabella, I'll take you home."

 **._.**

He called ahead, so they could open the door while he carried the unconscious body to her bedroom.

"We both have strep," he said on the way in.

As Edward placed Isabella on her bed, he revived her, "Isabella, I know you are tired. I promise I'll let you sleep, but you need to take your antibiotic first."

"Penicillin. I'm allergic to penicillin," she breathed heavily.

"I know. This is a different antibiotic, one you're not allergic to." She opened her eyes and he showed her the box. She took the medicine and went back to sleep. He took his dose as well.

 **._.**

In the morning Edward was sitting by the kitchen table eating waffles. Isabella walked in a little groggy.

"Good morning, Sleepyhead," he greeted.

"What time is it?"

"It's ten o'clock Saturday morning."

"I slept through Friday?" She brought over her plate of waffles and sat next to him.

"Extreme fatigue. Coughing. High fever. You had a bad case of strep and _gave it to me_."

"That's why you're not at work?"

"We're still contagious for about two more hours. Your next dose is in this bag."

"How did you know I was allergic to penicillin?"

He shifted over to her and pulled up her sleeve to expose her bracelet.

"I knew that would come in handy one day," she smiled.

Josh walked in holding a teddy bear and gave it to her. "It's a 'get well soon' bear. It's the first thing I bought with my own money."

She gave looked at Edward raising her eyebrows implying "see what I mean."

"Thanks." She got up. "I'll put away since I'm still contagious."

"Josh." Once she left the room Edward decided to have a talk with his stepbrother. "I know what you are doing."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded.

"She sees it too. Come on, Josh, just when things were getting better between us. She's _my_ girlfriend!"

"I'm just being a good host."

"So you're saying you don't have a crush?"

Josh flared his nostrils as he sighed. "I'm not pursuing it. It's just … she helped me when everyone just wrote me off. She's so nice. She makes me feel like … like …"

"Like you could have a second chance," Edward continued softly. Josh nodded. Edward's tone hardened. "She's still _mine_. Beware. I won't be forgiving this time." By now Isabella was listening on the other side of the door waiting until it was safe to come back in.

"You know, I _am_ really sorry about Tanya. I didn't mean —"

Edward looked down. "Forget about it. She's gone and I've moved on."

"But she stopped by," Josh explained.

"What?"

"Yeah, when you were New York. She's planning on coming back today."

Isabella burst in. "Tanya is coming?"

Edward's words rushed. "Josh, do me a favor, get rid of her. I don't care how. I'm heading to the office."

"But you're still contagious."

"I'd rather contaminate my entire office, than see that _tart_ again," he spat.

"Can I stick around to meet her?" she asked.

"Be nice." He kissed her cheek.

"Apparently, I'm always nice."

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Josh opened the door to a girl with short blond curls and pale skin. She wore a holiday green dress that came down to the calves of her long legs.

"Hello Tanya," he greeted politely.

"Hi. Is Edward here?" she asked as she entered.

"No, he went to work," Isabella answered coming in from the other room.

"Who are you?" Tanya asked, giving her a once over.

"I'm his stepsister," she lied. Josh's expression went blank.

"He doesn't have a stepsister."

"Actually, I'm _his_ stepsister," she pointed to Josh, "from his mother's side. I wanted to spend the holidays with my big brother." She gave him a small smile.

Josh stared at Isabella trying to follow the lie. He shook his head out of his daze. "What do you want from Edward?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk to him."

"He doesn't want to talk to you. You hurt him and this family and it took a while to fix it. Neither he nor I are willing to mess it up again."

She gave a pout. "Well could you deliver a message to him?"

"Sure," Isabella responded reluctantly.

Tanya took a minute. "Tell him I'm sorry. I got scared. I saw the flowers and knew what was coming. I just grabbed the closest able body ... sorry Josh ... to try and stop what was going to happen."

"Why are you coming to apologize now? It's been a year and a half," Isabella asked narrow-eyed.

"Because, I've been in a few regretful relationships since and it made me wonder back to one of the best relationships I've had. I know he's taken, but I thought I could at least say sorry. I did owe him an explanation." Tanya turned to leave then stopped. "Tell this lucky girl he's one in a million."

"I will," responded Isabella quietly.

"Nice to see you again, Josh." Tanya left.

He closed the door and pondered aloud, "Are you going to tell Edward about her apology?"

"I guess, but I'm not going to make it sound heartfelt. She was hinting at something. She was hoping he'd want her back, like she _needs_ it. She is such a weed."

"You think she's sincere in her apology? I mean, you can't blame her for getting scared."

"Are you defending her?"

"No."

"Well, I get scared too, but I don't use people like that. She used _you_ and I think she needs Edward for some reason. Well it's tough for her. Once poison, always poison."

He became quiet glancing in her direction.

"What?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking you're much prettier than she," Josh inserted in a quiet voice.

"Josh ..." she sighed rolling her eyes, and then a smile broke free. "Thank you."

Since Josh still had off from work, after lunch the two decided to go do something with the rest of the day. They climbed into his car and drove around a bit before Josh had an idea.

"Hey have you ever gone ice skating?"

"I'm from Phoenix. The only ice I know is the kind that comes in cubes."

"Well it's just like roller skating. You've done that right?"

"Um, a little, I'm more of a bike rider."

"We can't do bikes with all this snow around. Just try skating. We're really close to the ice rink."

He parked in the lot quickly and they acquired some boots at the check in site. They traded their shoes and he helped lace up Isabella's boots. "You need to make them tight so you won't hurt your ankle."

"What!"

Josh stepped onto the ice and waited for her. She slowly stepped onto the frozen liquid and immediately fell.

"Ow. This is supposed to be fun?"

"Let me help you up." He held out his hand.

"No, I could do it." She crawled to the rink edge.

"Don't be such a baby." He grabbed her shoulders to help her up.

"No!" She was raised up half way as she squirmed. "I don't like being touched. The movement made them both fall over.

Josh began laughing. "Don't like to be touched? Are you serious? But you and Edward …"

Her face was beet red. "Nothing happened."

"Well, that must be fun for Edward. You think you could get up?"

She tried to pull herself up, but whimpered. "I think I hurt my ankle."

"There's a first-aid station over by the lockers," he pointed.

Isabella crawled onto solid ground, and then got herself up. "It is _not_ like roller skating."

She limped to the station with Josh right behind her. She took a seat on the bench, while Josh got the volunteer's attention. "A little help here?"

The girl approached wearing nurse's scrubs. "What's the problem?"

"Josh," Isabella spoke up, "could you get some hot chocolate?"

"Sure." He was beginning to get apprehensive. He knew if she was seriously hurt, Edward was going to kill him.

Isabella waited for him to be far enough away. "Could you help me with my skate?"

The volunteer removed the skate and examined the foot. "Does this hurt?"

"A little."

She rotated Isabella's foot testing the ankle. "What about this?"

"Um …"

"Wasn't enjoying yourself?" she asked before Isabella could answer.

"Is it that obvious?"

"I know an injury when I see one … and I don't."

"It's just I don't know how and I'd prefer to learn with Edward."

"Edward?"

"My boyfriend."

"He's _not_ your boyfriend?"

"No, Josh is his stepbrother. We're just hanging out."

The volunteer turned to look in Josh's direction. "He's cute though."

"He's available if you're interested."

She shook her head. "He wouldn't be interested in me."

"You never know. I'm Isabella by the way." Isabella held out her hand to shake.

The volunteer shook it. "Marissa. If you want to play injured, I could wrap your ankle, but you'll need to stay off it for the rest of the day to be convincing."

"Thanks."

She finished wrapping Isabella's ankle and foot just as Josh came back with the hot chocolate. "Now remember rest and ice," she said for Josh's benefit.

"Please, no more ice," Isabella joked. "Um, could I have your card, in case I have any problems later?" She tilted her head in the direction of Josh.

The girl narrowed her eyes then smiled. "Yes, here." She handed her the card.

Isabella passed it to Josh. "Hold this for a second while I remove my other skate." She took the cup from him and blew into her hot chocolate. The volunteer was called off to another skater.

"I am so dead meat," he worried.

"Don't worry about it. Marissa fixed me up and I'll be fine tomorrow." She paused to take a sip. "She thought you were cute."

"Who, the medical person?" Isabella nodded. "She did not!" he insisted in disbelief.

"She did. You have her card. You could call her tomorrow."

"She gave it to _you_ for your ankle."

"So what? You have her number regardless and she _did_ think you were cute." Josh contemplated. Marissa's dirty blond hair was worn neatly in a ponytail. She wore rimless glasses over her oddly bright blue eyes. Her facial complexion was clear and smooth, which gave her an intellectual, yet attractive quality.

"You're not faking me out are you? Girls never responded that way before. I wasn't even trying."

"Because you were concerned for me, you were being yourself. Girls don't like it when you lay it on so thick. It makes them uncomfortable," she explained. He looked at the card a moment and stuck it in his pocket. She finished her hot chocolate and then they left to go back to the house.

 **._.**

When Edward came home he saw Isabella reclining on the couch with her ankle wrapped. "What happened? Was there a fight? Did you get her good for me?"

"What? Who?"

"Tanya."

"No, this happened while ice skating. I told Tanya I was Josh's stepsister. I didn't want a confrontation. I don't think she'll be back. She told me to say she was sorry for what she'd done. She was panicking."

"Did she explain why she came now?"

"Yes," Isabella hesitated, "Relationship-wise I don't think she's having much luck. She missed … you, I guess. I think she wants you to rescue her."

"Oh."

She glared into his eyes. "Please don't go rescue her."

"Are you kidding? Why would I want her, when I have you?" Isabella smiled. "So," Edward sneered, "you going to tell me what happened to your ankle?"

"Oh, I'm faking. But the first-aid volunteer who wrapped my foot seemed into Josh. I got her card for him."

"You were faking to get her number?"

"No. I was faking, because I didn't want to fall on my rear again. The girl was just an added perk. I figure you could teach me tomorrow." She batted her eyelids. "Please?"

Edward's tone changed. "The flight back to school is tomorrow."

"Oh right."

"The thing is, I'm not going."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm having a problem with a few clients. Though I'm here now, the past couple of weeks they haven't gotten my full attention and they want to walk. I can't let that happen. Mr. Jay has tried to convince them, but the company really needs me. It's only a month and a half. I'll be back by the spring semester."

"But ... but ... taking off messes with your rhythm. What if you get so busy that you can't ever come back?"

"That won't happen. I plan on finishing school. Don't worry. I have a good incentive; I have to see you. Six weeks will fly by. I'll e-mail you so we won't run up the phone bill and you could send me loads of pictures."

Isabella nodded. She understood this is what Edward needed to get back on track.

 **._.**

The next morning Isabella packed her things to be ready to go back to school. They all had a family breakfast together then Edward and Josh took her to the airport.

"We will all miss you, Isabella," Josh said representing the rest of the family.

Isabella smiled. "Good luck with Marissa."

Edward took her hand. "I'm going to miss you." He leaned toward her and breathed in slowly through his nose. As he exhaled, his nose lightly brushed against the side of her neck up and down. He gazed into her wet smoky quartz eyes. "I'll come back to you." He gave her a quick kiss on her lips then she went to board the plane.

Tears dripped down from her eyes. She giggled to herself and whispered, " _What am I crying for? It isn't like I'm never going to see him or hear from again._ "

Edward's eyes watered, too. He wiped them quickly before anyone would see. "Come on. We've got to get to work."

 **._.**

January passed very quickly for Isabella. She focused on her two classes. She usually spent weekends hanging out with Angela and e-mailed Edward whenever she could. She would send him little tidbits throughout the day of what she was up to now. She had printed the pictures Edward had sent her and they were stuck to the walls of her dorm bedroom.

For Edward, January was torture. Meeting after meeting, client after client, he finally just gave them an ultimatum. If they wanted to continue working with his company, they'd better make a decision, because he was tired of the run around. In the end, all but one client returned. He wanted to call Isabella, to hear her voice, but more than that, he wanted to see her in person. He packed and got on a plane to return to school early.

Isabella sat on the benches in front of the English building that Sunday with Angela. They were doing their homework when Angela lifted her eyes toward the sun.

"Hey, I think I just saw Edward." She shielded her eyes for a better look.

"Where?" Isabella looked in the direction she pointed, but the person was gone. "It couldn't be him. It's too soon. He said he'd be back mid-February, when the spring semester starts."

"Maybe he came back early."

"You think?"

"Let's see if it is him. He headed for the dorms."

They ran to catch him, but he already entered the building. The girls went straight to Edward's room and knocked.

They were pleasantly surprised when the door opened. "You're here!" Isabella tackled him into the room for a big hug without thinking. His breath was knocked out of him. Angela entered the dorm too.

"I've been here not even two minutes. What do you do, sense me?" he joked.

"Angela spotted you. What are you doing here?" She let go of him. "I thought you were coming in February."

"I accomplished what I needed to do and jumped the first flight here. I thought you would want me back as soon as possible."

"Of course, I really missed you."

"Ugh! It's about to get mushy in here, isn't it?" Angela complained.

"Yes, especially since I brought a present for Isabella." He went to his baggage and pulled out the small ring box.

"Oooh!" Angela cooed. "Is that a charm for her bracelet?"

"She needs to open it to see," he answered.

Isabella took the box without opening it and hugged him again. "The best gift is you here," she commented. "You're always giving me something. I want to give _you_ something."

He pulled her in close. "I can think of plenty of things you could give me."

"I'm still in the room!" Angela announced.

Edward turned to her. "Then leave!"

Isabella giggled. "I meant a present."

"You don't need to. My birthday is coming this March on the tenth. I'll expect a gift then."

"And mine is in the next couple of days," Angela added.

"Why are you still here?" Edward questioned.

"I want to see what you got her."

"I'll show you later." Isabella directed her friend out the door and shut it behind her.

"Okay a birthday present, but before then is Valentine's Day and you can't buy me something for then."

"What? That's not fair. You expect me to let a lover's holiday go by and _not give you something_?"

"No gifts! Why do you have this need to shower me with objects?"

"Shower you? I don't shower you," he denied.

"Well it feels like it with the charms, the coat, the trip to Chicago—"

"You wanted to go."

"I could've paid for it myself. What happened to the guy who never gives gifts to his girlfriends?"

Edward gazed into her eyes. His voice was soft. "He fell in love."

Isabella was speechless. Her eyes dropped to the ground.

"Aren't you curious about your charm?" he asked. She lifted the lid to the ring box and there was a gold spherical object attached to the clasp.

"For our trip to see the ball drop at Time Square," Edward explained.

"Oh. I was wondering." He hooked the charm in the right place on her bracelet. She ran her fingers through the charms. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He pulled her in for a soft but long kiss.

 **A/N: I see some of you are too shy to comment. Don't worry I'm very understanding if you say you didn't like it or you thought it was boring. But if you loved it, please comment and say so.**


	6. Chapter 6 - A Broken Heart

_A/N: Okay I got a few of you to comment. I guess it's getting better. I'd like to apologize for my previous errors. I didn't bother doing a thorough reread of my work just before posting and some things got through. If some character's physical description didn't match, let me know. It is important to be consistent. Anyway, I went back and corrected the errors._

 _This story is mine, the imagination is yours and yet because of my characters' names, Stephenie Meyer gets the credit._

 **Ch 6 February – A Broken Heart**

For the last two weeks of the winter semester, Isabella had to still attend her classes. Edward would deal with his business phone calls mostly during the mornings, but during the rest of the day he had free time. February weather in Phoenix was pleasant, so he took to drawing the scenery along campus. A young woman noticed as she passed him by.

"What are you trying to sketch?" she asked.

"It's supposed to be the bench over there," he responded turning towards her, "Ma'am."

She smiled. "You have some talent there. Is this for an art class you're taking?"

"No. I'm just passing the time. Not many people are around during the winter semester."

"Yeah. Most people prefer to go home. Are you taking any classes?" she asked curiously.

"No. I came back early. My girlfriend is and I missed her. I'm just waiting till her class is dismissed."

"Ah," she nodded in understanding. "I'm Emily Young. I'm a teacher's assistant in the art department."

"Edward Masen, I'm a Business and Finance major."

"Oh so you're all concrete, not the usual closet art type."

"What, you mean this?" He lifted his drawing. "This is just for fun."

"Too bad. If I met you in the fall, I would've encouraged you to take my class this session. Still there is always the spring."

"My schedule is full."

"Really? Seems like a waste of something good there. With a little bit of coaching, I'm sure your sketching could turn into masterpieces. I have a meeting to get to. Think about it."

She was off and he examined his drawing again. "Nah! I don't have the time." He crumpled up his bench drawing and tossed it in the trash can.

"Three points, score! The crowd goes wild. Haaa!" Isabella stood there with her hands cupped around her mouth, imitating an audience cheering sound. Edward took a bow.

"It's good to see you." He felt relieved. "I can't handle waiting for your classes to finish."

"Tomorrow, why don't you just sit in on them?" she suggested.

"Good idea, but I plan on distracting you."

"I think I could handle it. Besides, it'll give me practice for the class I'm taking with you in the spring."

"Oh yeah? Which one?"

"Biology."

"We're sharing a science course?" he questioned with dislike. Couldn't it have been one of the good classes?

"Aren't you minoring in psychology?"

"Yeah, but that's because I'm a nut!"

She grinned and shook her head. "Don't worry the spring semester starts in a week and a half. You will have classes and not have to fester around, okay?"

"Can't wait."

The next day Edward went to the art department before meeting Isabella to find Ms. Young. "Hey, I was thinking about you teaching me a little art."

"I'm glad you changed your mind. I'm teaching _Introduction to Drawing_ Monday/Wednesday at 2:00pm."

"No, I don't mean this spring. I was hoping during the afternoons. I could pay you."

"What!" She got up and closed the door to her office. "Are you trying to get me fired? I can't teach private lessons. It's against my contract."

"Oh, sorry."

"Tell you what; you know that area we met? I'll meet you there every afternoon around the same time. It's my lunch break. I'll give you a few pointers for free. But just in case it's still against the rules, don't tell anyone. Not even your girlfriend, okay?"

"Um … okay."

"Another thing, call me 'Emily'. If you call me Ms. Young, people will guess I'm teaching you."

The next few days, Edward spent afternoons on a bench drawing. Emily would come to have lunch and share some drawing tips. His pictures were getting better. Isabella had no idea what Edward was doing with his time, because Emily was always gone before Isabella's class was over.

 **._.**

"Hey Edward, I know this Sunday is Valentine's Day, but there's something important I need to do with Angela," Isabella remarked while studying in his room.

"What? No! Practically every day you're busy with class or homework. This is _our_ day. Whatever it is that you two 'need' to do … too bad." Edward argued.

"But—"

"Tough!"

"Okay fine. Let me text her."

She pulled out her phone and started texting to Angela:

 _Problem. Can't get away 4 V-day. Can u set up the rm w/o me?_

Angela texted back:

 _Fine u o me._

 **._.**

The morning of Valentine's Day Edward tumbled out of bed and headed to Isabella's dorm. If he wasn't allowed to buy her a gift he would _at least_ spend every minute of the day with her. They went to a café for brunch, strolled around campus enjoying each other's company. They watched an early movie at the mall cinema and then got some ice cream.

"There are so many things here I could get you. Just tell me what you want."

"I told you, I don't want anything," she reminded him. "This day is perfect, just you and me."

He pulled her over to him. "And you were going to ditch me for Angela."

"I have no idea what I was thinking." She stepped up on her toes to kiss him.

He wrapped his arms around her to hold her there. "How's your heartbeat?"

"Steady. Why?"

"I could fix that." He kissed her again only this time she felt him suck slightly on her lower lip and her heart responded. His tongue stroked it."

"Whoa, slow down Tiger." She pushed him away to catch her breath.

"I can't help it. I told you I'm never going to want to stop."

"How about we get some take-out and eat it at your place?" she suggested.

"For real?" he questioned in disbelief, but excited. She nodded.

 **._.**

Edward fumbled with his key in his haste to open his door. The idea of being able to kiss Isabella the way he wanted made him over-zealous. He stumbled through the door with her in tow and stopped short. "What the—" The room was completely covered in rose petals. "How?"

"Angela did it. I was supposed to but you insisted on spending the day together." He snorted. "I have no idea how she got in, but what I do know it is I love you." His dark eyes never left hers as he pulled her close. But instead of his mouth resting on her lips, his head shifted to her neck. She gasped and he pulled back waiting for her to move away. When she did not, he again pressed his lips softly to her tender neck, holding it there with his caressing hand.

Isabella first felt a tingling where he touched her. It spread out as he moved to her throat. Her pulse quicken as the uncomfortable knot begin to form in her belly.

"Edward," she whispered. Her eyes closed and her breath was a shallow pant. "I think ..."

"Deep breaths Isabella." He moved to her cheek then to her mouth, his tongue licking the entrance.

She slowly separated. "Edward this is far more than I can handle."

He took hold of her hand. "Right." His eyes held hers. "Are you hungry? We could open the take-out."

"Yeah." She took a deep breath to calm down.

"Okay. You set it up. I'm going to the little boy's room to ... relieve myself."

He was gone and she picked up the bag of food. As she set it on the table, his phone rang. Since she recognized the area code as Chicago she answered, assuming it must be important.

"Hello? Mr. Masen's phone."

"Allo 'oo iz zis?" a French accent responded.

Isabella was familiar with the woman who owned that voice. "Oh Mademoiselle Chandelle, it's me, Mr. Masen's girlfriend Isabella."

"O'! It iz you. I wuz expecting to speak wiz Mr. 'Enry. Zere 'az been a recent issue wiz Mr. Daniels zat 'e instructed me to deal wiz. I really need to speak wiz 'im. Pleeze be sure to give 'im zis message."

"Will do." And they both hung up.

As soon as Edward walked back into the room, Isabella decided to play coy with him. "How long did you think you could keep this from me?"

"Excuse me?"

"You and a certain older female having meetings behind my back?"

His face blanched. "Oh I'm sorry Isabella. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how to explain Emily without making trouble."

Her face blanked. "Emily?" her voice cracking. "Who is Emily?"

His face rose in temperature as it reddened. "Um. No one. Who are you talking about?"

"Mademoiselle Chandelle, she was just on the phone. Who is Emily?!" she practically yelled.

He was tongue tied. He didn't want to admit that Ms. Young may be in violation of her contract. "She's ... um. She's ..."

"Never mind!" she interrupted. She got up and left slamming the door.

"Wait, wait Isabella!"

 **._.**

Isabella ran to her room. "How did it go?" Angela asked.

Isabella just stared at her speechless for a half second then water welled up in her eyes. Her nostrils flared in and out trying to contain her emotions and then she broke out in sobs.

"I don't know what happened. Things were going so well. Then he got a phone call from work." She was handed a tissue to dry her tears. "There's a woman named Emily that he's been seeing behind my back."

"She called?"

"No. It was a woman from his work, but when I said 'a certain female he's been talking to' had been on the phone. He misunderstood my playfulness and it just came out. I can't believe it."

"Then don't."

"What?"

"Did he _admit_ it - cheating I mean?"

"Who side are you on?"

"Yours! It's just, it doesn't make any sense."

"I just wish ..." and Isabella couldn't speak anymore, her throat clogged with emotion. Tears poured over and she lay face down on her bed sobbing into her pillow.

"I know Isabella," Angela consoled while rubbing her back comfortingly. "I know."

Edward had showed up a few minutes later, knocking softly. "Isabella ... Isabella I'm sorry."

The two stayed quiet within the room and he left a few minutes later.

 **._.**

The next day was the start of the spring semester. Edward spotted Isabella a few times during the day but was reluctant to talk to her. He didn't know how to explain who Ms. Emily Young was without getting her in trouble for possibly breaking her contract. Isabella saw him lurking once or twice and change direction to avoid him.

After a day of staying on the sidelines he decided Isabella was more important to him and she needed to know what was really going on. He knocked on her door and door.

No answer.

"Isabella," he called, "Isabella."

"She's not here!" Angela's voice yelled back.

"Open up I need to see her."

One of the other room doors opened. "Quiet down. There are other people here trying to do their homework."

"I'm not leaving till I see Isabella," he explained.

Her room door opened. "I told you she's not here!" Angela declared.

He peered in quickly. "Where is she?"

She shook her head. "I'm not supposed to tell."

"Please," he begged. "I need to explain."

"I don't understand," she added. "How could you cheat on her?"

"Cheat? Is that what she thinks? No I would never do that. Where is she? Tell me please."

"Promise you won't go there?" she asked. He nodded. "She went to stay with her mother for a bit."

"Oh." He turned to go.

"Who is she then?" Angela asked.

"She's a teacher here. She was technically giving me a few lessons in art, but if anyone found out about the solo lesson she would get fired. I knew I should have told Isabella, but I didn't think any harm would come of it. It was just to pass the time. Please when she comes back tell her I'm really, really sorry. Tell her I love her." He turned around to walk away as Angela slowly shut the door.

"You got all that?" she asked to the tear-soaked female standing hiding behind it. "He loves you."

 **._.**

The next day Isabella ditched her biology class to find the art department. Edward already thought she was at her Mom's so he wouldn't expect her to be there.

"Excuse me, Mister. Is this the art department?" she asked to a college-aged man.

"Yes. How could I help you?"

"I was wondering if there was a professor here with the name 'Emily'."

He looked at her strangely. "Is there a class you're looking to enroll in?"

"Um … just tell me. I'm sure there are plenty."

He looked at the list of available art professors for the semester. "No. There aren't any professors with that name. Are you sure you have the professor's name right?"

"I don't know," she despaired. "He said _Emily_."

"Maybe she's not a professor. We have a TA with that first name."

"A TA?"

"A Teacher's Assistant. A TA is a grad student learning to become a professor. They teach classes too," he explained.

"Really? Do you know where she is?"

He checked the wall clock behind him. "She should be here any moment. TA's have to check-in between classes."

Just then a young woman with auburn hair stepped in from the hall. Isabella noticed she was attractive, but it was clear she was several years Edward's senior. She caught the woman by the door way. "Are you Emily?"

The woman smiled. "Yes. What can I do for you?"

"You don't know me, but did you know a student named Edward Masen?"

"Yeah. I taught him art last semester."

"So you two were never …"

Ms. Young thought a bit to try and figure out what Isabella was asking. "What?"

Isabella sighed. "Together?"

"No! I love my job. It's against school policy."

Isabella wanted to believe her, but knew the woman wouldn't admit to anything if it will get her fired. She swallowed hard and nodded, sadness still on her face.

"His description of you didn't give you justice, Isabella," Emily commented.

Isabella's head snapped toward her. "You know my name?"

"Of course. You're all he spoke about. It was easy to tell he cares a lot about you."

"Then why didn't he tell me about the lesson?"

Emily leaned in and whispered, "Because I asked him not to. I was doing him a favor. I just couldn't let that raw talent go to waste."

 **._.**

Edward used the time away from Isabella to speak to Mr. Jay. He tried to take care of business so not to fall behind, though distracted. He kept changing the subject back to her.

"Look at it from her perspective. Would you forgive her, if she cheated on you?" Mr. Jay implored.

"I didn't cheat," he stated.

"But she thinks you did," he reminded him. "Let her cool off for a little bit. She'll come around."

There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Isabella."

Edward spoke into the phone. "It's her. I got to go."

He quickly shut his cell and opened the door to a weary-looking girl.

"I missed class," Isabella said.

"Yeah, I know."

"Could I get your notes?"

He went over to his notebook folder and pulled out some pages stapled together. "I typed them and made a copy. These ones are for you."

She flipped through it. "So this is why you ace all your classes." The edges of her mouth lifted a bit, but didn't stay.

"I don't usually type, but I've had a lot of time free."

She looked at the ground. "You should have told me."

"I know."

"You broke my heart." She was going to leave, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Don't go Isabella. I know I should've told you. I'm still not a hundred percent sure why I didn't. She was just giving me a class."

"I know. I heard ... and checked."

"You checked?"

"She's very nice."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't trust me?"

"I do! I didn't think you really did anything, but I can't ... you know, _physically_ give you more. And I thought if someone else offered, how long would you really hold out?"

"Isabella ..."

"You certainly wouldn't tell me if someone else offered. I mean, I wouldn't tell _you_ , just so that there wouldn't be any trouble. Those were your words, weren't they? 'I didn't know how to explain Emily without making trouble'?"

He nodded. "I just meant I didn't want her to get fired. She was doing it for free."

"I know. She explained." She looked down at his hand and took it. She looked back at him. "I'm sorry I can't give you more."

He sighed, rubbing his thumbs across the back of her hand. "Isabella, you're enough." He pulled her close and latched his lips to hers. His arms wrapped around her as if he will never let her go.

Her words came through her heavy panting. "I love you, Edward."

"Aah Isabella." He kissed her again.

After a few moments of heavy _making-up_ he stopped. "There's another reason I kept the art lessons a secret."

"Really, why?"

He went to one of his drawers and pulled out a wrapped rectangle. He handed it to her and she tore the paper off.

"Is this supposed to be me?"

"Yeah. It was my final. Emily, I mean Ms. Young, helped with the ears and nose, but this was mostly my doing."

She realized that was why she recognized her. "I'm impressed. It's really good."

"I figured you wouldn't be too opposed to a gift if it was _made_ verses _bought_."

She held it to her rapidly beating heart. "Thank you. But now I need to give _you_ something."

"Well I won't be too opposed to you _doing something_. In fact there are plenty I could think of right now," he suggested flirtatiously.

"Edward …"

 **._.**

Three bio classes later Edward was thoroughly lost in the subject. "Can you come over after your last class?" he asked Isabella. "I have to read a few investment files Mr. Jay sent me tonight and I won't have a chance to read through the last few chapters in the textbook this class covered. There is little chance I'll make it through tonight's homework without you."

She came over a little after four. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Where do you want to start?" she asked as she pulled out her book and set it out on the table.

"I haven't the foggiest idea."

"Maybe we should start with the homework questions and work from there?" She sat down as he shut the door.

He paused for a moment before coming to her side. "This is the first time you've come over for a date since that night," he pondered then smiled. "And we never finished what we started."

"Edward, I thought you needed help."

"I do. I'm just saying."

After getting through the first page of questions, the material started sounding familiar. They had almost finished when Edward became uneasy.

"My brain is starting to hurt. It's like learning another language. There is so much jargon. I need a break." Edward got up from the table to grab himself a drink from the fridge. "You want anything to drink?"

"No I'm okay."

He opened his water bottle and sat on the couch as he took a sip, leaning his head over the top. "You know you're welcome to join me."

She got up and sat beside him. "I think we should continue. We just have one more page and we're done."

"Need a break!" he bellowed.

"Okay, okay. You want to order some pizza?"

"Oh, I have a better idea." He jumped up and headed to the freezer, pulling out some take-out containers.

She looked curiously as he popped them into the microwave. "You didn't eat it?"

"Why would I? This was our Valentine's dinner. I need you to share it with me," he spoke as he set up the plates. "Oh, that reminds me." He headed to his dresser and pulled out a box with a bow. "I know— no presents, but this is your gift, so you're just going to accept it." He gave it to her and her eyes softened with emotion when she opened it to recognize the velvet box which held her monthly charm. She pulled it out and lifted its lid. The piece inside made her gasp. It was a golden heart with intricate detail of a crack down the center. Across it was a tiny silver bandage. "I hoped I had fixed your broken heart. I didn't mean to hurt it," he said softly.

"Thank you, Edward. You don't know how much you mean to me."

"Oh I think I have an inkling." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. His hand came up to caress her face. His mouth opened and his tongue stroked her lower lip asking for entrance. She pulled away for a moment, feeling her rushing heartbeat. But her breathing was steady, and so she just smiled gazing at him. "What?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Nothing." He returned the smile as she leaned forward to connect with him again. He moved down to her neck, placing kisses carefully around the hollow spaces. Her eyes closed melting into his arms. He quickly pulled off his shirt revealing a muscular bare chest.

"I love you," he uttered before continuing his pursuit of kissing her. Their bodies shifted horizontally and her breathing increased.

"I can't breathe," she panted as his face was on her neck again.

"Me neither. Deep breaths, Isabella."

"No Edward," she gasped. "I really can't breathe."

He lifted his body off of her. "You okay?"

Her gasps for air changed to pants as he held her hand. "In and out Isabella. Deep breaths." He breathed in to coach her. "In. And out." He blew out. She followed his lead.

"I think that was a little more than I could handle," she stated apologetically. He nodded and continued to breathe with her.

"Don't worry about it."

She took a few minutes breathing with him before she spoke again. "Didn't you say you have other work to do?"

"Yeah, two client files. It's getting late. I guess we should eat and hurry to finish our homework."

 **A/N: Well things are getting hot and heavy! Tell me if You liked it. I'd love to hear from you.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Taboo

_A/N: Hi guys. I feel like I've waited forever for the week to pass. I hope you like this next chapter._

 _The story is mine, the imagination is yours, and yet because of my characters' names, Stephenie Meyer gets the credit._

 **Ch 7 March – Taboo**

Days passed and it was the first week of March. "So, your birthday is coming. Do you have anything in mind you want to do?" Isabella posed on one of their late night phone calls.

"I don't know. I'll have to get back to you on that. But, I know I don't want it to be a surprise. We'll plan something together.

Edward hadn't vocally considered what to do for his special day so when March tenth came around Isabella brought a cake and some coffee in foam cups to him early in the morning. She kicked on his door with her foot. "Happy birthday twenty year old!" she announced.

Edward opened the door and pulled her in. "Why is it I can't tell anyone about your birthday, but you think you could just broadcast mine?" They both chuckled. They ate some of the cake for breakfast and got up to go to their classes.

They met in the cafeteria for lunch when Edward suggested something. "I know what I want to do tonight."

"What is that?" she asked.

"I want to take you dancing."

"Dancing? That sounds cool."

"Be sure to wear a nice dress," he reported.

"A _nice_ dress? Are you implying some of my dresses aren't nice?"

"No, but we're going someplace specific and I want you to look very beautiful," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You planning on making someone jealous?" He just smiled. "What time will you come?"

"I guess at six o'clock."

 **._.**

Isabella wore the cocktail dress Edward bought her for her birthday and he arrived driving her to a country club on the outskirts of Phoenix.

"Don't freak," he warned.

"Why would I freak?"

They gave the car to the valet and walked into the country club. As they stepped foot into the dance hall Isabella saw a woman all dressed in white. _A bride!_ she screamed in her head. She stopped and began backing away. He grabbed hold of her hand.

"This is a wedding!" she shrieked.

"Yes."

"Let go!" She pulled her hand free. She left the hall and Edward followed her out.

"What's the problem?" he pressed.

"This is someone's wedding. Were you even invited?" she said in a panicked whisper.

"No, but technically the wedding part was earlier. It's not like we are going to eat their food. We're just going to dance."

"Can't we go to a club or a disco?"

"Those places have bumping and grinding, not dancing. This is classic two-person dancing. I thought it might be nice."

She planted her feet. "This is wrong. We're crashing some family's big event."

Edward took her hand. "Don't worry about it. There are so many people, we'll blend right in."

Isabella took a moment and then nodded slowly.

They walked back into the hall. Isabella tightened her hold on Edward's hand. They joined the wedding guests on the dance floor. She was nervous at first, but when she saw no one noticed their intrusion, she loosened up. They were twirling around the dance floor. She actually began enjoying herself and he could tell that she wasn't disturbed by their location any longer.

"Do you know what this reminds me of?" he reflected.

"A wedding," she said sarcastically.

He chortled. "The Senior Prom."

She looked around. "Yeah, it does."

He began to paint the picture. "The bride and groom are the queen and king, and they get their own special dance. Everyone's reminiscing about their last year, planning to keep in touch with each other."

"Of course, no one does," she giggled. "What was your prom like?"

"I didn't go to my prom. Tanya and I planned to go, but she brought along some booze. The other couple we were sharing the limo with got excited and the plans changed to drink it at the State Park where we couldn't get in trouble and could make-out.

"What about you? Did you have a pleasant prom in Phoenix?"

"It was far from perfect. I went with my friends, because I was too worried about what would happen if I had a date," she murmured.

"Well then, I'm going to pretend this is _our_ prom and you, my dear, are my date. I'm the geek who is lucky enough to have the head cheerleader in his young, but strong arms." He extended her outward. He reached to her with his arm and she spin back into him.

Giggling, she asked, "Was that how it was in your school? You were a geek and you crushed on a cheerleader?"

"No, but that's how the movies go. The underdog gets the girl."

"But Edward, you're not the underdog. If anything, you'd be the coolest guy in school. Every girl would be falling over themselves just to catch a glimpse of you."

"I'm glad you think so!" he chuckled.

"Then, what was high school like for you?"

"Firstly, I didn't look like this till I was out of school. Secondly, I just attended my classes and then went to my dad's company to work. How I even got a girlfriend, was beyond me."

"It's too bad we didn't go to the same high school. I bet our formative teen years would've been different."

"You think so? I guess, this is our chance to shine. A super genius with his super model."

"More pretending?"

"No, that one's reality." He smirked as he gazed into her caring eyes and her cheeks pinked up.

"Thank you, but I'm hardly a super model," she denied.

"You are to me. Thanks for staying."

"I feel very comfortable in your arms." She put her head to his chest. "Are you having a happy birthday?"

He lifted her chin. "I am now." Edward went in for a gentle kiss.

 **._.**

Edward walked Isabella into her dorm room after the wedding. "That was fun. We should do that again sometime."

"I was thinking about that. What would you say about taking dance class with me on Sundays?" he asked.

"Dance class? Like what, waltzing and ballroom stuff?"

"Yeah. You had some good moves. I bet if we learned together, we could be great."

She pondered for a second. "How much will it cost? I'm short on cash right now."

"Don't worry about it. They charge per couple. If you want, you could pay me back."

"You already researched this?"

He smiled. "I guess you caught me. Why are you short on cash?" he questioned.

"Wait here." Isabella went to her night table and came back with a box that had a blue stripped bow. "Happy birthday."

"You went broke buying me a gift? I'm not letting you pay me back for the dance class."

"What? No," she refused.

"Forget it!" he roared. "Now, what was so expensive?" He opened the box. It was a gold Movado watch. His jaw dropped. "Are you crazy? These are mad expensive. I can't accept this."

"Yes you can. It's only fair, because you keep adding to this." Isabella held out her hand, exposing her charm bracelet.

Edward took his watch off and put on the new one. "Thank you, really," he said as he hugged her.

"It was my pleasure."

 **._.**

That Sunday was their first dance class. They walked in and there were seven couples. The teacher hadn't arrived yet. The other couples were talking about what interested them in taking the class. One couple, Shelley and Steve, wanted to learn to dance, because they flopped badly dancing at their wedding a few nights ago. Isabella stiffened at the words and grabbed Edward's hand.

"We weren't at theirs," he whispered in her ear.

"How do you know?"

"Because we watched the bride and groom dance. Did it look like they flopped?"

"No … they were fantastic."

"Exactly."

The dance teacher and her partner walked in and positioned everyone in their places. The instructions were easy to follow and the next thing they knew the whole class was doing the steps and spinning in unison.

When the class was over, Edward asked Isabella about spring break. "Do you want to spend it together?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I want to spend it with you. So, whose family this time?"

"No Isabella. I meant just you and me, go on vacation together."

"Just us for two weeks? I don't know."

"I know it's a big deal, but this is the break where all my clients take a vacation. I'm free from work and I thought we could take advantage."

She bit her lip. "Where would we go?" Her excitement began to build.

"Anywhere in the world. Where do you want to go?"

"Italy. No, no France. Wait. I can't decide."

"Why not both? In fact, how about we do different parts of Europe?" he mused.

"No, that would be expensive."

"Not if we stay in hostels. We'll backpack. That's how college students usually do it, right?"

Isabella smiled. "That sounds exciting, but won't it be dangerous?"

"We'll plan it out right, so we could minimize the danger and the expenses."

"Do you have a valid passport?" he inquired.

"It's at my house. What about you?"

"Mine is with me. Just in case I need to leave the country in a hurry," he winked.

"Have you ever had to?"

"No," he chortled.

"What will our parents think? I really doubt either of my parents will be cool with it."

"I doubt my mom will be okay with it either, but we _are_ away at college. It's not like they could stop us. Then again, we'd be depending only on each other. There's no one to rescue us in Europe if we'd get in trouble."

"I still want to go," she said. "I need to get my passport from my Mom's. I could go Saturday for a visit."

"But, won't she ask why or what your plans are for spring break? What will you say?"

"I don't know. It's getting dark and I still have homework," Isabella said.

"Fine. Come on, I'll take you back to your dorm."

 **._.**

During the week Edward called a travel agent to plan a possible backpacking trip route where he and Isabella would be in danger as little as possible.

Saturday morning Isabella drove up to her Phoenix home to her mom quickly getting dressed. Her mom had planned a day out with Phil, but was willing to postpone for a visit with Isabella.

"Nah, Mom; don't worry. I only came to get my Passport anyway. You go have fun."

"You sure?" Isabella nodded. "Okay. Your passport is in my desk with my important things. Don't move anything without putting it back." She was about to leave, but paused. "Why do you need a passport anyway?"

"Identification."

"And a driver's license is not enough?"

"They asked for two."

"Who's _they_?"

"Um … the school."

"Isabella Swan, are you hiding something? Don't make me call your father."

"It's nothing Mom. There's just this school trip for one of my classes during spring break."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your cousin Leah's wedding is during the break. You think you and Edward could make it? I can't remember which exact day."

"Aah, I don't know. This trip should be most of the break so if it's midway, I can't."

"What about Edward?"

"What do you mean? You want Edward to attend without me?"

"Why not? I could tell them you guys are almost engaged and rub it in your skinny Aunt Sue's face how rich you will be."

"Mom, this sibling rivalry you have going is scary. Anyway, Edward's probably going home for the break, so … sorry."

"Fine," she sighed. "Give him my love. Bye"

"Bye, Mom." Isabella shook her head at her mom's crazy notions.

 **._.**

After dance class the next day, Edward discussed the options of the backpacking trip. "We could start off in England. There is a good quality hostel. We could stay for a day or two seeing the sights of London. Then there is a boat we would need to catch to take us to France. I know this family, the Bakers, which have this Inn near Paris. We could use the tour bus to show us the central locations in Paris. Then . . ."

"Did you map out the entire trip?" Isabella interrupted.

"Not officially. This was just suggested advice from the previous partakers of this type of trip," Edward informed. "Here," he pointed, "I'm following the same route the travel agent showed me on this map."

She looked at it. "It looks fine to me, but is everything set in stone or could we improvise?"

"Oh, of course we could improvise here and there, but we would accomplish more during the trip, if we followed the scheduling."

She smiled and her eyes widened. "We're going to see Europe!" She gave him a big hug and he drew in a long whiff of her shoulder-length hair.

 **._.**

By the next Sunday the trip was booked. Edward told his parents they were going to England on a special college program trip. All that was required was clothing and they were going shopping after dance class.

The teacher decided that she was going to teach the class a new type of dance and began showing the steps. The dance required moves like "lifting" and "dipping" and most of the class would fall over, laughing as they messed up.

"I think that session was the best time we've had in class," Isabella said, "although my bottom is _very_ sore." She began laughing again.

"You're sore. I can't even _lift_ my arms! I never realized how heavy you are."

She scowled at him. "Liar!"

Isabella picked their coats up from the chair and something hard fell from Edward's coat pocket. She picked it up. It was the ring box. The others in the room noticed and there was an audible "Ahh" echoing in the room. Isabella and Edward both said in unison, "It's not what you think." Then looked at each other and laughed.

"I was going to give that to you later," he pouted.

"You still _can_." She replaced it back in his pocket.

 **._.**

They bought some sturdy ware-resistant shirts, pants, and some comfortable boots, since they would be walking a lot. Food for the journey was also planned. They got some easy to carry non-perishables for emergencies. But most of the time, they planned to eat out by certain locations that were less pricey mapped out with the trip. With someone like Edward, who had an unlimited cash flow, it was odd for Isabella to hear him explain how to minimize expenses.

They took a break for dinner at her dorm room, pizza. Angela was out on a date.

"So, are you curious yet about your charm?" he asked.

"I've been thinking about it, but I didn't want to say anything."

He took out the velvet ring box and gave it to her. "Do you use the same box every time or is it just me?" she wondered.

"It's the same. You don't need it since you're wearing the charms. That reminds me. I don't think you should bring your bracelet or necklace on the trip. It would be a shame if they got lost or stolen."

"You're right. Will it be safe in your dorm? I don't want to put a burden on Angela."

"Yeah. I'll put it in a safe place with my watch."

Isabella opened the box. She smiled. "A birthday cake?"

"Yeah, to remember my birthday dancing at the … _prom_." He emphasized "prom" with a smile.

She kissed him, then said, "Thank you."

He attached the charm. "Seven months with you has been like peeking into Heaven." He stared into her brown eyes. He leaned into her again, kissing her long and deep. His tongue stroked her lip then mingled with hers. His hand came up to the soft mass on her chest and she jumped back. "Oh, sorry," he apologized, lifting up his right hand. "It has a mind of its own."

"Maybe you should leave," she commented. Her arms crossed over her chest. The beat of her heart pushed back at the pressure. He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow Edward." He got up to go and she walked him to the door.

"I really _am_ sorry," he said sincerely.

"I know you are."

That week Edward spoke extra long to Mr. Jay every day, making sure all business was taken care of and all loose strings were tied. If any emergencies occurred, what responses he should take and which procedures should be done. There wasn't going to be a way for Mr. Jay to contact him, so he wanted to be extra sure that there weren't any surprises when he came back.

 **A/N: So Edward got a little fresh for a moment. I originally had that play out differently, but I like this way better. Anyone got any ideas?**


	8. Chapter 8 - Spring Break

_A/N: Not many of you decided to review. Let's see if I could change that._

 _Disclaimer:_ _The story is mine, the imagination is yours, and yet because of my characters' names, Stephenie Meyer gets the credit._

 **Ch 8 April – Spring Break**

Saturday arrived and the two college students headed to the airport where they took a flight to JFK International Airport in New York and then a connecting flight to London, England. They stayed in London for just two nights making the most of their time. They saw Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, walked across the street at Westminster Abbey, and took pictures with the crooked lines. Then they were off by boat to France across the English Channel and stayed at the Laurent Family Inn. It was a small, but comfortable location. The hosts did their best to make their guests happy. Edward and Isabella climbed the Eiffel Tower, admiring the view that seemed to go on forever. They enjoyed the sights of most of the City of Lights. They sat in a café having real croissants and coffee. They visited the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. Then they took a train and traveled all night to Madrid, Spain. Isabella took advantage of the cabin car and lay down to sleep. The traveling was exhausting. Edward mostly sat in his seat watching her and drifting in and out of consciousness. Once in Spain they attended the bullfight and met up with one of Edward's clients. He had a home there when he wasn't traveling.

"It is so good to see you, _Señor_ Masen," _Señor_ Diego welcomed them, "and it is nice you brought _Señorita_ Swan along with you. It is rare for us to see one another during a time of _siesta_ \- no work."

"Well it is very kind of you to offer us a place to stay," Edward commented.

"It is fortunate we are in Madrid at the same time."

He showed them to their rooms and told them they could make themselves comfortable. He pointed them to the shower and the laundry room. "Dinner will be available _en una hora_ \- one hour."

At dinner Isabella asked Edward to review the next of their trip's plans.

"Well, we'll spend one more day in Spain then we will go to Portugal. From there we will fly to Italy. There's a lot to see there. I think we should spend three or more days to allow for travel time. There are a few cities, Rome, Pisa, Venice, we should go to, but they are not near each other."

"I can't believe it is already the end of the week. It feels good to be in the comforts of home," she sighed.

"This feels like _your_ home?"

"Well, more like yours," she corrected.

He yawned. "I could really use a good night's sleep."

 **._.**

By the time they were done with Italy, it was Wednesday and they were headed off to Greece. They signed up for a popular tour bus company. What they hadn't anticipated was how popular it was. The company had several buses, one for each language available. Edward and Isabella's bus pulled up to the museum parking lot slightly off from the walkway to the entrance. The group followed the tour guide into the museum.

"Edward, do you have my camera?"

He stopped to check his backpack. "No. When was the last time you saw it?"

"A minute ago. I think I left it on the bus."

"Well hurry up and get it. I'll tell the guide to wait." She ran off to the bus and went inside.

As she searched all around the seats, people begin entering the bus. "Oh man I missed it." She went to sit down and the bus pulled out. "Wait," she mumbled, "Where is Edward?"

She stood up looking around at all the people. The guide told her something from across the bus in a language that sounded like Italian. She sat down swearing to herself frantically searching through her bag to find her phone.

"Oh please pick up ... pick up!" Tears were starting to build in her eyes and her vision clouded over.

"Hello, Isabella? Where are you? They are not waiting."

"Edward," she sobbed. "I got on the wrong bus. These people are speaking Italian and they left with me on it!"

"Tell them to let you off!"

She quickly stood up and ran to the front of the bus. " _Por favora_. Um ... um." The tour guide yelled at her and pointed to the seat. "Wait you need to let me off. I'm on the wrong bus. Please? My group is back there." She pointed out the window.

The guide looked at her strangely and said something in what sounded like a third language to the bus driver.

"Off, off, I need to get off! Please?!" she yelled. She lifted the phone back to her ear. "They don't understand me." She sat on the vacant seat.

"Okay," Edward said in a panic voice. "I'm getting the guide." He went to find the guide once more. "Sir, sir my girlfriend, she's on the wrong bus. The tour left with her on it. You need to help me."

"Excuse me sir. I am not understanding. Start from the beginning."

Edward explained that she went back onto the bus to get her camera, but went on the wrong one.

"Sorry sir, but this is not my problem. I need to finish the tour."

"What! But you have to help her!"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Don't you have a way to contact the other bus?"

"You need to speak to our driver. He could help you with that." The guy pointed to the corner where their driver waited.

"Edward, Edward, what's going on?" Isabella's voice asked.

"Hold on," he told her. "Sir, Mr. Bus driver?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. I need your help. See my girlfriend got on one of the other tour buses."

"Where is she headed?" he asked in the Greek accent.

"Where are you headed?" Edward repeated into the phone.

She went to the guide. "Where are we going?"

The guide pointed to the seat and spoken Italian again.

Isabella looked at the people on the bus. "Does anyone speak English?"

Someone from the back stood up and came to the front. "I speak a little."

"Good. Tell them I'm on the wrong bus. I need to know where we're going."

The man spoke to the guide then turn back to Isabella. "Parthenon."

"Edward, we're going to the Parthenon."

He conveyed the message to the driver. "We are not scheduled to go there until tomorrow," the driver explained. "They are following a different plan."

"What should we do?" Edward asked.

The driver took Edward's phone. "Hello Miss? Give the phone to the guide."

"Who is this?" she asked.

"I can help. Please, I speak the language." Isabella handed the phone to the guide.

She looked at it questioningly. Isabella spoke to the man who was helping her. "Tell her it's for her."

He said it in Italian and the guide took the phone. " _Allo?_ "

The voice mumbled through the phone and Isabella just watched as a guide communicated to the driver in Greek.

" _Allo? Allo!_ " The guide gave the phone back to Isabella and said something to the men.

"She said, it dead," the man translated.

"What?" She glanced at the phone trying to turn it on. "No, no this can't be happening." On the other side Edward was trying to call Isabella again, but it kept going to voicemail.

The tour guide came out with the other people and everyone got onto the bus. "I have an idea," the driver said.

The tour Isabella was on continued on to the Parthenon. She stayed close to the English-speaking man. His wife seemed a bit peeved by the extra attention he was getting and was swearing at him in Italian. When the tour ended everyone got back onto the bus, but the man told Isabella not to come. "Stay here."

"But I can't stay alone," she argued.

"Have no choice. Go to inn." He pointed in the direction across the street by the vehicle service. "To sleep."

"What?"

"This place close. Inn near here." His wife pulled him onto the bus.

"But...but."

The guide got on last. She pointed to the vehicle service and said, "Aphrodite."

Isabella knew Aphrodite was the goddess of love, but didn't understand why she was giving her the moniker.

She walked over to the service station. "I need to get to an Inn."

"Which one?" an English-speaking driver asked with a heavy accent.

"I don't know. A close one."

"There are a few."

She thought about it for a bit then asked, "Is there one that is called _Aphrodite_?"

"Yes actually."

"Then take me there," she requested. She was glad Edward suggested they split the money up for the trip, so if either one of them lost their bag there would still be enough money to get them at least home.

Once she got there she didn't know what else to do. She tried her phone again and cussed at herself for not charging it when she had the chance. She just walked around the inn, wishing there was some way to contact Edward. As the hour got late, she stayed in the lobby watching the new guests arrive exhausted from their own trips to the interesting locations. Her eyes filled with water and misted up her vision as she once again wished for Edward. She went to sit on one of the chairs set out to give the lobby a homey feel. She sat straight against its back facing the entrance and closed her eyes. Her tears rolled down and she just let them fall.

Someone touched her face, wiping away the tears on each side with their thumbs. Her head couldn't move from the touch, because it was against the headrest.

She opened her eyes. "Don't cry Isabella." It was Edward. He was kneeling in front of her.

"Edward! You're really here?"

"Yes. I can't believe I found you." She grabbed him quickly pulling into a hug. "I was so worried." He was pulling in her scent.

"How _did_ you find me?"

"When your phone went dead the driver radioed in and they somehow got a hold of the bus driver. They knew there was an inn near the Parthenon, but they needed to tell you to stay there without them. I thought you wouldn't even understand, let alone stay here, but you did."

"Someone on the bus spoke some English. Oh Edward, can we just go home?"

"Whatever you say."

 **._.**

The next morning they had a car take them to the airport. Because the return flight was non-transferable, they needed to stay two days in London until their planned flight. They booked a room in a hotel for the remainder of the vacation.

"I have never been so scared in all my life," she told him.

"I know what you mean. I would never have forgiven myself if anything happened to you."

When it was time for bed, Isabella asked if she could share with him. "It's the only way I'll feel safe." The two nights she cuddled into his side as he stroked her hair nodding her off to dreamland.

Saturday they flew back to Phoenix, Arizona and were back in the university by late afternoon. They first took Isabella's things to her dormitory and then went to Edward's. He wanted to give her back her necklace and bracelet. He took out the ring box too.

"I didn't realize at the time how significant this charm would become." He opened the box to two pendants, a boy and a girl linked together.

"I guess this will remind us to always stick together," she suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," he smiled briefly.

"I guess I should head back to my dorm."

"Why don't you stay here tonight? Angela won't be back until tomorrow. You'll be alone in your dorm room."

"I don't have anything to sleep in."

"You could borrow something of mine."

 **._.**

Edward slipped into the bed behind Isabella with her wearing only his t-shirt, shorts, and her own underwear. He, like usual, was shirtless. He wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her in close. His nose took in the scent of her and his instincts took over. His lips rubbed against the exposed skin of her shoulder and they turned into tiny kisses.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

He paused. "I'm loving you." He waited a moment. "Do you want me to stop?"

She turned around to face him. "No." She looked at his lips as she leaned into them.

Something suddenly took him over as he maneuvered himself on top of her. His mouth left hers as it made its way to the space behind her ear, moving down to her neck and throat. She gasped as his arm found its way up her shirt planting his palm squarely on her breast. He grinded himself against her leg as he made his way back to her mouth.

"Edward," she panted. Her heart raced to keep up with her intense emotions.

"Breathe Isabella," he uttered as he slowed down. He kissed her once again before lifting the shirt off her body completely and planting his face upon her mounds. He held one as the other was flicked by his tongue. His other hand slipped below the top of the loose shorts. The fabric slipped down to below her knees. His fingers played, lightly touching the exposed skin of her inner thigh.

His head came back up to her neck and face again, kissing the breath out of her. "Does this feel good?" he asked. She nodded as she enjoyed his breath beside her ear. "Well, it's about to get great," he said as he slipped his hand beneath her underwear.

 **._.**

Isabella awoke the next morning feeling unfamiliar with her surroundings. She realized Edward's arms still comfortably wrapped around her. She slipped out of the bed taking the sheets with her to cover herself up to enter the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and was disgusted with the messy-haired person and saw. She remembered the moment he stopped to slip on a condom. It was her chance to stop it, but he made her feel so good when he touched her. She wanted more ... she wanted _him_ — more than she wanted anything. She felt like a common slut, covered in filth and she needed to wash it off. She hopped into the shower and curled into a ball, tears streaming down, mixing with the heated liquid in the tub.

Edward woke up from the sound of falling water and came to find her, a smile plastered to his face. He slipped on some bottoms before speaking. "Isabella, can I come in?" He turned the knob without waiting for a response. "Sorry. I really need to go." He heard her sobs and came closer pulling the curtain away. "Isabella, are you okay?" He shut the water and placed a towel over her. She shook her head. He was full of concern. "What's wrong?"

She looked up. "I wanted to wait."

"Excuse me?"

"Till I was married to have sex … I wanted to wait until I was married."

"Oh … why?"

"I just … it's, I … I just did." She thought for a bit. "I wanted it to mean something, to have one guy and not like my mom. Not that I blame her. It's her life, but it's not for me."

"I don't understand," he questioned.

She sighed. "I wanted to be married first so that I have the one guy I love forever."

"But that's what I don't understand," he clarified. "Isn't that me? Aren't I the guy you love? The one you want to spend forever with?"

Her face reddened slightly. " … Yes."

"So we were a little early. It doesn't mean because we skipped a step, we can't go back to it. Wasn't that the plan? We were going to be together, married one day?"

"But Edward, your secretaries thinking I was sleeping with the boss — now I am. You were my boss and I slept with you. I'm a harlot." Her head bowed down in shame.

"Don't ever say that!" He lifted her chin to look at him. "You're nothing like that. You're not even my employee. You are my girlfriend, the girl I love and will always love." He smoothed down her hair around her face and kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, because you didn't ruin anything."

She looked at the sincerity in his face. "If it's all the same to you, don't tell anyone."

"Who am I going to tell? I keep telling myself and I don't believe it." A smile lifted her cheeks. "So finish your shower. I suspect Angela will be back soon and I need to make some business calls to Mr. Jay. I expect a lot has happened over the two weeks and I can only imagine what could have gone wrong."

 **A/N: Well what do you think? Good lemon or bad?**


	9. Chapter 9 - Finals

_A/N: Wow no reviews for the last two posts. Tough crowd._

 **Ch 9 May – Finals**

A day or two later the next month had arrived. The strangle holds of finals clasped around each student's neck and once again Isabella was booked in the tutoring center. Edward seemed oddly distant in biology class. She thought he was just trying to focus for the test, but he barely returned any of her phone calls. He also claimed he was busy when she wanted to make plans. At first, Isabella really didn't notice the change in his behavior, because she was herself busy studying for finals. No longer having dance class, they drifted apart with their own distractions. Eventually she became aware Edward was always on the phone, either conversing or texting and writing things down on paper furiously. It was mid May when she realized she scarcely got any attention from him and decided to change it.

They sat across from each other in the cafeteria. "Edward," she said as she took his free hand.

He stopped his texting and looked up at her.

"Hi," she said sweetly.

He smiled gazing at her. "One minute." He continued back to the phone.

"Forget it!" She got up and walked away.

He finished his text and lifted his eyes to see she was gone. He completely missed her anger.

 **._.**

When she went to biology class the next day, she made sure to take a seat between two other students. She hoped Edward would see she didn't save him a seat this time, but he came to class late so he took the seat closest to the exit and left as soon as class ended. He continued to behave in this manner and it made Isabella upset. Their relationship changed drastically since the night they were together, and she began to wish it never happened.

 **._.**

Isabella was lying on her bed studying her biology notes when Angela walked over because she needed a pencil. "Whoa! What are all those 'hate Edward' scribbles? You two had a falling out?"

"He's a jerk! All this time he wanted one thing and I gave it to him! I can't believe it!"

"Whoa, whoa!" She held out her arms. "You gave him _what_ exactly?"

Her face blanched. "Never mind."

"No, no. If it means what I think it means, holy cow! That's really big."

"And he's ignoring me now."

"Gee! That's really low." She sat on the bed comforting her friend, rubbing her arm.

"You want to know the worst part?"

"What?"

"I can't get him out of my head." Tears began to pool and Isabella wiped them away before they could fall onto her notes.

 **._.**

As finals approached, several classes organized group study sessions in certain classrooms. The teacher posted the scheduled session for biology on the board. Both Edward and Isabella made a note to be there.

The group gathered in one of the library **'** s study rooms and student by student conducted what they knew for certain portions of the class.

One boy asked, **"** Which topics are certain to be on the exam? I don **'** t think the professor planned to include the earlier stuff. **"**

"No, **"** Isabella answered. **"** It **'** s all from after the midterm. These three on the top of the review sheet and the professor said to skip this last one. It wasn **'** t covered so extensively, so he **'** s giving us a break. The rest is on the test. **"** She handed him the sheet.

"He also said to pay close attention to cell anatomy and Mendelian genetics. There will be a diagram on those, **"** Edward added.

Isabella turned to the voice she now loathed. He looked directly at her and her heart sped up. **"** Right. **"**

When the session was over he caught her on the way out. "Hi, long time no speak. How have you been?"

"Oh you **'** re talking to me? Don **'** t you have somewhere to be or someone to call? **"** she uttered acerbically.

"Not at the moment. I have allotted the full hour and a half for this. I still have 15 minutes."

"Well you could use your 15 minutes watching me leave." She gathered her things into her bag.

"I **'** ll do that," he smirked as his eyes tracked her out of the room. He quickly grabbed his bag and followed her out. Occasionally, he noticed as she peered behind her peeking to see if he was still there.

As she bit down on her lip, he remembered how much he missed her. He never intended to stop seeing her. He had a pattern he didn't want to repeat, so he threw himself into his work. Two new clients were signed up by Mr. Jay over the break and since these were business ventures in Phoenix, Edward had to read the portfolios and do his own leg-work to keep his investments worth it. It left little time for outside socializing and since he no longer was sexually frustrated, Isabella suffered the brunt of it. He realized by the end of April their relationship was where he wanted it to be and he somehow ruined it. When she approached her dorm, Edward turned to leave for the other direction.

The next morning Isabella almost tripped over the bouquet of blue oxeye daisies in front of her door. The note read: I **'** m blue without you. – _Edward_

Her anger seemed to boil and steam out of her ears. She picked up the flowers and tossed them at the wall in her dorm room.

"Hey! Those stems didn **'** t do anything to you," a recognizable voice commented from a hidden location.

"You come out here Edward! You come out and face me!" she called into the corridor. He stepped out from behind the stairwell. "How dare you? How dare you show up here like nothing's happened?" she yelled. "You think you could woo me with daisies and I would forgive you?"

"I'm sorry. There were new developments at work and I let them distract me." Doors in the hall began to open and faces peeked out to see the action.

"You told me you love me," she whispered.

"I do," he responded. "That's why I panicked."

"You panicked?"

"Everything was perfect, even our trip, how everything worked out in the end. I was worried something bad was going to happen and it'll take you away from me. So I immersed myself in my job to avoid it. I worked so hard … I actually accomplished just that."

"So it's _not_ because you lost interest in me?"

He took a step forward. "If I did, do you think I would be here? I don't think that could ever happen."

She looked around at all the girls. Most of them, she thought, were hoping she would officially cut him loose so they could move in on him. She walked over to him. "This doesn't mean I forgive you."

He nodded. "I know."

"You're an idiot." She paused. "Are the clients secured or do I still need to compete?"

"They're still up in the air, but one word from you and I'll drop them in an instant. It's always been that way. All you need to do is ask." He reached out and grazed her arm with his fingertips. Goosebumps formed as the knot in her stomach unraveled. She took deep breaths and gazed shyly at the carpeted floor. His other hand came up to her chin to lift it to his and placed his warm lips to hers. A heated sensation embraced her body.

There were cheers all around the halls. It seemed everyone heard them make-up. "All right, all right," Angela called out. "Show's over. Don't we all need to get to class?"

 **._.**

On Memorial Day, Edward came over to study. He turned his phone off after texting Mr. Jay he was busy. She read through the material, focused on getting through the topic.

"I missed you, Isabella. Did you miss me?"

"We have a lot of material to cover so pay attention."

"I can't. Not until you tell me you missed me."

"Edward, focus. If 364 heterozygous yellow pea plants cross pollinated 524 homozygous green pea plants, which is the likely resulting numbers of yellow and green pea plants?" she read.

He took the book from her and examined the question. "What is this math? I thought we were doing biology?"

"This _is_ biology. What is the possible outcome?"

"Um, heterozygous to homozygous? Wouldn't it be fifty percent of each?"

She smiled. "Right, and yes, I missed you."

"I knew it!" He leaned over to peck her on the mouth. She had been keeping things literally tight-lipped on the affection front and he was still trying to loosen her up.

"So after finals we should do something, you know, just you and me," he offered.

"I can't."

"Oh come on! How long is it going to take for you to forgive me?"

"It's not that. It's my dad. He planned a trip for after finals. Him and me, to make up for Christmas."

"For how long?"

"Two weeks. We're going to Disneyland."

"Shoot, I'll be gone by then."

"Gone?"

"I'm going home for the summer."

"Oh."

"Well, I might as well give this to you now." He pulled out the now very familiar grey velvet box and handed it to her. "It's to make up for the ones you threw," he said as she was opening it.

It was a gold charm of a daisy. "Oh, thank you. I'm truly sorry about that."

"That's okay."

She inched closer to give him a hug. He met his face with hers and she was caught off guard. He quickly plunged his tongue into her mouth mixing their salivary juices. His hand held the back of her head with woven fingers through her hair. The other arm held her body, pulling her closely against his. She felt her resolve crack and let herself enjoy the moment. Her heart was beating in sync with his and her tummy, no longer in knots, dropped like she was on a roller coaster. "Edward," she said in a sorrowful tone as she pushed him away, breathless.

"I know, but you can't blame me from trying."

 **A/N: Well I can't believe that happened. Can You?**


	10. Chapter 10 - Summer Vacation

_A/N: I would like to thank_ Yali. Page _for reviewing. It was much appreciated._

 **Ch 10 June – Summer Vacation**

Once all the finals were over, the very next day Isabella packed her things for her vacation with her dad. The plan was her dad would pick her up and they would go to the airport. Edward wanted to see her off, but she told him she wouldn't feel comfortable giving him a proper goodbye in front of her father.

For more than a week Isabella and her dad saw the sights of Disney, but she missed Edward. She began hallucinating, seeing _him_ as some of the characters. She decided she needed to call him before she went mad.

"Hello?" Edward answered.

"Hi. It's Isabella. How's your vacation?"

"It's not much of a vacation, work, work, and more work. But at least I have my weekends free. What about your vacation? Mickey treating you well?"

"It's okay. I really miss you. I keep seeing you around here as Aladdin or Prince Charming. It's very frustrating. Today I could have sworn you were inside of Tigger."

"Inside of Tigger?"

"Yeah, because he's a tiger who got too friendly during pictures."

"I'll kill him!" he declared.

"No, it's fine. My dad took care of it."

He smiled. "Good for him."

"Anyway, I was thinking, maybe I could visit you for a day or two, you know, when this trip is over?"

"Are you serious? That would be great. I'll make some calls and get back to you."

"Wonderful." She shut her cell phone and prepared for the day.

As she walked through the connecting room doorway, her father set breakfast on the table. "Honey, I think today we should take it easy, sit by the pool and chill out. This is actually a very nice hotel and you don't seem to be enjoying yourself the way a person should while in Disney. This is the land of perpetual happiness."

They both sat at the table about to stuff their faces. "It's just because I miss Edward. I just got off the phone with him. I think I'll go visit him once we head home, but until then I'll be better."

Charlie paused to stare at his daughter. "Visit him? Like in Chicago?"

"Yes." She took a bite and swallowed.

"Not by yourself?"

"Why not?"

"I'm your father. Do I need to go into 'why not'?"

"Dad, I'm an adult. Besides, he has parents too and we live in dorms. There isn't ANY supervision _there_. If you trust me at school, why can't you trust me in Chicago?"

"I _don't_ trust you at school, but your mom has custody."

"I'm nineteen, no one has custody." She folded her arms in finality.

He looked at his little girl, not little anymore. "Fine, go. But I'm giving you some important advice, be careful. That's the only body you have."

Isabella looked down at her crossed arms and softened her reserve. "I know Dad." She smiled as she lifted her eye to him. "Thanks."

 **._.**

A couple of days later the three coordinated Isabella's travel arrangements. They changed her return flight to Phoenix into a flight to Chicago and Edward was supposed to pick her up from the airport.

Everything worked as planned except when she got to O'Hare international Airport, she was alone. She collected her luggage and waited on one of the chairs by the exit. He finally arrived thirty minutes later.

"Isabella," he said as he rushed through the doors.

"Oh Edward, what kept you?"

"Sorry. I got stuck in a meeting then stuck in traffic and I still have to go back." She stood up to pull her luggage forward. "Whoa! Your dad let you dress like that?" She wore tight mid-thigh denim shorts and a crop top Disney T-shirt. Her skin was a shade darker from sunbathing. He quickly took her things and led her to the car.

"This is nothing. My dad had a conniption when he saw my bathing suit."

"Really? Remind me to take you swimming one day."

Edward drove her to his house, occasionally breaking the speeding laws, and gave her his key. "Do me a favor, cover up. I'll never be able to think straight with you dressed like that." He brought her things inside and deposited them by the doorway.

"Thirsty? I'll get you a drink." They walked into the kitchen to get her a drink of water. "I have to go, but my family will be here soon. They don't know you're coming, so be sure to announce your presence. I'll see you later." Edward took two steps toward the door before he heard ...

"Edward?" He stopped and turned around. She held out her arms for a hug.

"Oh right. I'm in such a rush I forgot." He put his arms around her waist and planned just a soft kiss to her cheek, but they paused before separating and their eyes met. The next thing they knew they were engaged in a heated kiss. His arms lifted her body and her feet were off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she ended up sitting on the counter pressed against the cabinets. He pulled his face from her, panting heavily. "I guess I'm forgiven." A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "I need to get back to work. You won't miss me for too long."

Isabella unpacked her stuff in the guest room. The room looked the same as when she occupied it over winter break. She changed her tee to a beige half sleeve cotton shirt and added a matching wrap-around, ankle-length skirt she usually wore over her bathing suit by the hotel pool. After, she walked down to the living room and glanced at the walls to a shelf of books she hadn't noticed before. As she read through the titles, curious about one, she pulled it off the shelf. She sat down on one of the couches and began to read.

Around 5:30 Edward's mom and stepdad walked through the door surprised to see they had a visitor. Isabella came to the door. "Hi guys."

"Isabella? What are you doing here?" his mom asked.

"I came back for a visit. I really missed it here."

"Oh…?" She looked at her husband.

Mr. Cullen chimed in, "You got a nice tan. Does Edward know you're here?"

"Sure. How do you think I got into the house?"

"Right. How silly of me."

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events," Elizabeth said.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I've got to start dinner."

"I could help you. I'm a pretty good cook."

Thirty minutes later Josh came home followed by Edward. Isabella was astonished by his early arrival. "You didn't really expect me to leave you alone with them," he commented.

"Well, well, well," Josh said as he gazed at Isabella, "you're still around. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here, but we all thought you wised up by now."

"Funny," she laughed, "very funny."

He snickered with her but mumbled, "Or Edward kicked you to the curb."

She sobered up. "What?"

Edward shoved him. "Ow!"

"Boys!" the mother shouted from the kitchen. The three followed their nose.

"Mom something smells delicious," Edward complimented. Isabella still felt confused by the scene moments ago.

"Oh, Isabella has been helping me with dinner. Did you know she could cook?"

"No, I didn't."

They all gathered to the table to eat and Josh filled Isabella in on his relationship with Marissa. "We're up to five months and I never would've met her without you."

"Hey, I just got her number."

Edward was seated beside Isabella and kept one hand below the table on her thigh. The two were whispering and giggling to each other during the meal. When she got up to go to the bathroom, his parents began their interrogation.

"So you guys made up?" his stepfather asked.

"What?" Edward was confused as to how they knew there had been a problem.

"We thought you two broke up?"

"Who told you that?"

"No one. We just thought based on the conversations about her, or lack of."

"What do you mean?"

"In the past two months whenever I asked how she was doing, you answered, 'Fine, I think.' That is not the answer of an involved boyfriend," his mother informed him.

"It was just the Phoenix clients and finals. We didn't get much together time and then she was away. Everything's fine between us. You don't have to worry. It's even better than fine, it's great!"

"Um hmm."

Meanwhile, Isabella passed Josh on his way back from the restroom. "Something's different about the two of you."

"I have no idea of what you mean," she commented.

"You guys seem a little more touchy feely. Didn't you say you don't like being touched? Has something changed?"

Her cheeks pinked and she gave a shy smile. "I need to use the restroom. Excuse me."

"It's funny," he added, "I really thought you guys would be over by now."

She paused. "Why would you think that?" she asked as she turned back to him.

"Because Edward doesn't _do_ _girlfriends_ ," he explained.

"Well, nine and a half months says he does."

"Clearly! It's obvious there is something special about you. Edward usually just dumps a girl after sleeping with her. You must really have your hooks in deep." The comment caught her off-guard for a moment. "You must be doing something right." He glanced toward the restroom. "Didn't you say you need to go?"

Her fists clenched and her brow furrowed. "Josh, why are you saying those things about Edward? He wouldn't treat a girl like that. I thought we were friends. Why are you lying to me?"

He took a step back, surprised by her tone. "I'm not. You could even ask him." He was silent for a half a minute. "The touching … you two haven't … that's probably why he's still with you."

"That's none of your business!"

Josh began to walk away, but then stopped. Without turning around he spoke, "He must really love you. The Edward I knew wouldn't wait this long." He continued on back to the dining room and left Isabella lost in thought. She stepped into the bathroom in a daze. She remembered how Edward disappeared after they had sex and it seemed since their reconciliation, he'd been trying to get another taste.

 **._.**

That night Edward came to Isabella's room and asked her to go for a drive. He drove her to his old high school parking lot. Most of the grass area was covered with folding chairs.

"So, this is where you went to school? It's nice. The building is bigger than my high school's," she said while they sat in the car.

"I remember they bring out these chairs for graduation. I guess it is approaching."

"I wonder how things would have been if we were in high school together. Do you think you would've noticed me?"

"How could I _not_? Especially if you came dressed the way you were when you got off the plane."

"I think you're blowing it out of proportion."

"I couldn't stop thinking about you the rest of the day."

"But seriously, weren't you dating Tanya, the girl you claimed couldn't keep her hands off of you? Why would you even care about me? I'm the girl who wouldn't let any boy touch her."

He stared at her for a moment and realized from all the psychology classes he took she was insecure about something. "Firstly, you forget I didn't look like this in high school, so I doubt I would appear as a threat."

"A boy's a boy."

"Secondly, I only dated Tanya at the end of senior year. You would have had three years to catch my eye. Although admittedly, I wasn't really looking — I was too busy working."

"But if you weren't. If you were looking, would you have made the effort?"

"Isabella, all you have to know is that I _did_ make the effort. That's why we're here now."

She gazed into his eyes. "You wouldn't have. You would still have gone for Tanya. She's an easier target."

"Target?" he repeated in question.

She had to ask him point blank. "Did you ever sleep with her?" It would explain why he would dump a girl after sleeping with her. Tanya hurt him. He wouldn't want to let someone get close.

Edward knew what was on her mind. He was a lot more experienced than she knew and it was time to come clean.

"No, but there were some after Tanya," he admitted slowly.

"Some?"

"Yeah. You see she really messed me up. After what happened, I put all my energy into work and I started dressing the part of an executive. I started looking better and that's when girls began to flock to me. I'm not proud of it. I didn't even consider them a girlfriend."

She nodded her head and mumbled, "Edward doesn't _do_ _girlfriends_."

He stared at her in question. She knew something. He continued, "It was more like dinner dates. Eventually, I'd sleep with them once, rarely if ever twice, then I'd have enough and dump them."

Isabella swallowed. "So it's true? After we were together, you had enough. You _were_ dumping me."

"No."

Tears were starting to well up in her eyes. "And what you said in the bathroom, about us being together. You were placating me."

"No! I meant it, every word. Maybe subconsciously I fell back into my pattern, but I told you I panicked. It was what I was _trying to avoid_! I never _wanted_ to be without you. Isabella, I love you."

She looked down for a second, but then lifted her eyes and smiled. "I love you too, Edward."

He leaned into her and shifted his face to kiss her. He wanted to put how much she meant to him into it. His fingers lightly wove into her hair. He held still attached to her. He pulled slightly away and tried to memorize her face. He smiled. "Breathe Isabella."

She pulled in a ragged breath. She had been holding still, trying not to ruin the moment. She took a good deep breath this time and hugged him, resting her face in his neck.

She was very happy to be with him, but curiosity got the better of her. "How many?" she mumbled.

"Excuse me?" He pulled away from her to hear her question.

"How many girls did you sleep with?"

"I don't know."

"Did you at least know their names?" she asked playfully.

"I did then. The last one was named Heidi, I think."

"You used a condom, right?"

"Of course," he assured.

"It's weird. You have this shady past, this bad reputation and it gets ME in trouble."

"You?"

"Yeah, that's why your mom thought we were having sex. And also the people at your work, you're the slut."

"Hey!"

Her brows furrowed. "There's something I don't understand. Why did you make the effort? Why were you not like that with me?"

"I didn't want to be. I went to Arizona to start fresh. I was bitter, but once I met you I was able to change. That's why I count September as the first month and not October, when I officially took you out. That's why I hired you," he explained.

She gave a sinister smile. "So I should file for sexual harassment."

"I'll give you sexual harassment!" His mouth captured hers so quick that his body followed and he was practically out of the driver's seat. "I think I'd better drive us home."

They pulled up to the house and they paused before getting out. "So what's going to happen now?"

"What do _you_ want to happen?"

"I don't want to get caught."

He grinned and pressed his lips to her neck. "We won't."

"How about this?" she suggested. "If everyone is already in their rooms, then we'll go to mine. But if people are out and about, then we'll have to postpone."

Edward glanced at his home. The lights only came from the bedroom windows. "Deal."

They quietly entered the house and stepped up the stairs. His family was all behind closed doors. As they got to her bedroom door, Josh stepped out of the bathroom. "Hey, goodnight you guys." The two turned in surprise.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Edward whispered.

"What?" he whispered back.

She looked at Edward's eyes. "Goodnight Edward." She kissed him then mouthed, "Sorry." He pouted. Just before closing her door she told Josh goodnight.

Edward turned to his stepbrother. "Thanks!"

"What?" Josh whispered innocently.

 **._.**

The next day, to Isabella's dismay, Edward and his family had to work. She was left alone to entertain herself. She decided to go to Lake Michigan by cab. She watched the families enjoying summer together and thought she should convince Edward to take the next two days off while she's here, because she needed to go back to Phoenix for the summer session.

"Why don't you stay here for the whole summer?" was his response.

"That's ten weeks."

"So?"

"I _can't_ just stay."

"Why not?'

"There's nothing to do!"

"You could get a job and we could spend weekends together."

"A job doing what?"

"You could work for me."

"Pass. You know my philosophy about sleeping with the boss."

"Then somewhere else, just don't do fast food. I smell it enough on Josh. I don't think I could handle smelling it on you too, again."

"Edward, the whole summer?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll speak to Mr. Jay. He'll find you something."

 **._.**

That weekend they all went to Lake Michigan. Isabella pulled off her T-shirt and stepped out of her shorts. That's when Edward first saw her in a bathing suit. It was a royal blue tankini with boy-short bottoms.

"Now I know why your dad flipped out. Holy smokes!" She just smiled at him and walked off into the water.

"Close your mouth, dear," his mom said as she came by to stand beside him. "You know how I feel about sex in the house?"

He looked at her with reddened cheeks. "Yes ma'am."

"Good."

He set down the bags, pulled off his shirt, and followed Isabella into the water.

The whole day, the family took advantage of the beach weather by playing games on land and in the water, but Edward was afraid to touch Isabella. He thought once he had, he wouldn't be able to stop and he didn't want to embarrass Isabella or himself because his family was there. Once the day ended, he took her aside at home before they had a chance to get out of their bathing suits. He risked taking her hand and kissed it.

"That bathing suit…" His eyes roamed her body.

"You're not bad looking yourself," she commented back. "I'm surprised I was able to restrain myself."

"I know what you mean. Before I forget myself, I want to give you your charm." He handed her the ring box.

She looked at the velvet box and then at him. She gave a small smile and leaned into him. He recognized the movement and leaned in, too. Her lips slightly parted and he took his chance to slip his tongue in to stroke hers. Her heart sped as she felt her breathing pattern change. His arms came up to touch her face awkwardly pushing her away just enough to speak. "This is not helping my restraint."

"I'm sorry." She took a deep breath.

"Your charm."

"Right."

"I know you're going to think it doesn't make sense, but it's to remind us of where we were when you learned about my past. About who I was before I met you." She opened it and saw a gold graduation cap.

"Clever." She smiled and attached the charm in June's place on her bracelet.

After they both showered and changed, Edward got a call from Mr. Jay. He got Isabella an interview for a children's museum. They needed extra staff to handle the increased amount of visitors during the summer months. The museum requested college students since they're more enthusiastic about running special programs for the camp visitors. At the interview Isabella was offered the job.

 **A/N: Well what do you think?**


	11. Chapter 11 - Fireworks

_A/N: This chapter went through several changes until I decided on a finished product. I hope I made the right choice. Tell me what you think._

 _Disclaimer: The story is mine, the imagination is yours, but because of the character names, Stephenie Meyer gets the credit._

 **Ch 11 July – Fireworks**

Isabella went to work on her first day and then helped make dinner that night. Edward gave her a white and pink Gerbera Daisy to congratulate her.

"Why did you bring her a daisy? She's not worth a rose?" His mother playfully asked.

"Isabella likes daisies Mother." He gave his girlfriend a hug from behind and kissed her cheek.

"He's right."

He whispered in her ear, "I love seeing you like this."

"Really?" she cooed. She turned around to face him in the hug.

"I'm still in the room," Mrs. Cullen reminded them.

"I'm letting go," he said as they both quickly separated. He went to sit down at the table. "This Sunday is Independence Day. Some high school and college students are planning a neighborhood block party with a bonfire, a barbecue, and some fireworks. Do you want to go?" he asked Isabella.

"We're all going," his mom said, "even Marissa's coming with Josh."

"Sure, sounds like fun."

Edward woke up early on July fourth and made a special breakfast for the whole family, pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.

"This is so cool," Josh said. "I'm going to try something like this for lunch."

"So, I was thinking we should go roller skating after breakfast."

She frowned, "I'm not a skater, remember?"

"That's why I plan to help you."

"Maybe another time. I have this bad feeling that I'll miss the fireworks, because I'll be in the hospital." Isabella licked her lips. "How about a matinee?"

"A movie? Is there anything you want to see?"

"Well, I heard some really scary movies were playing." The corners of his mouth lifted.

 **._.**

A very eclectic group of people gathered for the barbecue. Edward introduced his girlfriend to some of his neighbors.

"Hey Conner, this is my girlfriend Isabella, Isabella this is Conner, Katie, Austin, Rebecca, Lee, and Jared. Conner was my best friend in high school." He was her height with red, long hair in a ponytail and freckles dotting his face.

"Friend? I thought you said you were always at work?"

"I was, but in the four years I did manage to make friends."

"So you knew him in his awkward teen years," she chuckled.

"Yup and boy do I have some stories for you! He was such a geek. I took pity on him."

"Oh really?" Edward chortled.

"Glad I did too, because he's hardly recognizable now," Conner laughed.

"So I heard. You don't by any chance have any pictures in your wallet? He seems to be hiding them."

"No!" Edward shouted as Conner began to pull at his wallet. They were all rolling with laughter.

"So what do you guys want on your hamburgers?" Conner asked.

"Ketchup, lettuce, and tomatoes," she replied. Edward ordered the same. Conner prepared the burgers and gave it to them.

Someone brought a radio and music penetrated the air. Plenty of people began dancing. Isabella snuggled with Edward under a light blanket while they ate. Josh and Marissa sat opposite them. The girls spoke about the things they've done during break. The other people at the barbecue played Frisbee and other types of outdoor activities.

As the sky became darker, Lee ignited the bonfire. Sparklers were handed out and the fireworks began. It got colder, so many couples cuddled close to each other. Edward maneuvered Isabella to sit on his lap and put his arms around her to keep her warm. They weren't sitting very close to the fire, so the sparklers were the main source of light. People two feet away could barely see each other.

"Ouch! Shoot, I burned my hand," Isabella yelled.

Marissa searched through her purse blindly, trying to feel for what she was looking for. "I think I have some burn cream. Yeah, right here." She crawled over to her.

"That was really wise of you to bring some cream. Thanks."

"Well I figured since we'll be near a fire, I or someone might need it. I can't really tell how severe it is in this light. Just apply the cream and if it begins blistering, then we will know it is second degree," Marissa explained.

Edward asked, "And if it is?"

"The cream will help. Don't pop any blisters. It could get infected." She sat back down next to Josh.

"Isn't she smart? I'm so lucky."

"Oh, thank you, Josh." She pecked him on the cheek.

Edward squeezed out some cream and rubbed it on the burn. Isabella left the sparkler on the ground and it extinguished itself.

"I had enough sparklers. I don't want to get burned again." She turned sideways and cuddled into him, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Did I put enough cream on your burn or do you need some more?" he volunteered.

"I think there is plenty on, but the burn is throbbing."

He took her hand in the dim light and kissed it softly. "Does it feel better?" She could see he was admiring her in the near darkness. Her heart accelerated.

"Yes," she breathed. He touched her face lightly as he kissed her. She pulled him in closer and held him tightly by his shirt collar.

"I had enough of this," he whispered. "Let's go home."

"But the fireworks …"

"We could make our own." The two stood up. "Guys," he said to his stepbrother and his girl, "we're going to head home. Isabella wants some ice."

"Good idea," Marissa commented. "Fifteen minutes on and fifteen minutes off."

"Right, thanks." He grabbed her hand gently and they gathered their things to leave.

Once they got to the empty house, Edward took her uninjured hand and led her to her room. His tongue penetrated her mouth, caressing and swirling around hers. His hand went on a scavenger hunt for soft tissue. Their passion heated their bodies and beads of sweat formed. She could feel his hand under her shirt. The other rounded around her bottom keeping her against him. She knew how much he wanted her. The kissing slowed till it stopped as they realized what was going to happen. They looked into each other's eyes, breathing heavily. He pulled off his shirt slowly and she followed. They sat in the bed and pulled the blanket over themselves. Her breathing came in deep gasps as he moved to kiss her neck. His left hand was fingering her breast while his right was unbuttoning his suddenly too tight jeans.

"I don't want to get caught Edward."

"Me neither. Don't worry. Everyone's outside watching the sky light up."

"I love you."

His hand caressed her cheek as he memorized her face. He kissed her briefly on the mouth then gave her a line of baby kisses along the cheek and when he got to her ear he whispered he loved her. He pulled a condom from his wallet and they didn't say another word that night.

Isabella awoke the next morning alone.

 **._.**

That week the museum had many camp visitors. The campers were usually the topic of conversation whenever she spoke, especially when speaking to Edward. She was a little angry about being left alone that night, but she was more concerned he had begun to retreat back to his pre-Isabella way of life. She felt if she brought it up, it would set him off and he might break-up with her. She tried to _not_ be bothered by the fact he had slept with so many women before her and after her he would just move on to someone else. This idea ran through her mind constantly. The only way to distract herself was to continually discuss work. After dinner on Friday, Edward intercepted her before she entered her bedroom.

"Isabella, we need to talk," he uttered.

Her heart sped. Those words did not sound good. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked lightly. "The arts and crafts the campers did today?"

"No. No more work stories. I think we should talk about July fourth."

She started to gasp for breath. Her vision blurred and her hands grasped at the door frame. "Please don't do this."

"Breathe Isabella. In and out," he said as he tried to steady her. "Obviously, I've done something to upset you. Did I hurt you? I just want to know if you're okay. Every time I approached to talk, you gave me another work story."

She stared at him in awe. This wasn't what she expected. "You left me that night."

His head tilted slightly. "Is that what's bothering you? You know you could've asked me. I was worried about getting caught."

"I thought you lost interest, you know, like you did before, with the _other_ girls. You've never slept with anyone three times. When you weren't there, I thought my number was up. I was hoping if I kept talking you wouldn't be able to split up with me. I've got nowhere else to go."

"No Isabella, no. I thought I already explained this. That guy I was before you — that was not me. That guy was broken and cold. I never want to be apart from you."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I told you; I never felt this way about anyone." She smiled at the sentiment. "Better?"

She let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Isabella."

 **._.**

The end of July approached and Elizabeth Cullen had ordered pizza for dinner, since it was Josh's birthday. The family, apart from Edward, gathered around the table in the decorated dining room. Isabella was rifling through a few envelopes she received from work. The first half of the summer was over and she received her paycheck and some random cash tips.

"I didn't know people could tip the museum staff," Josh commented.

"Me neither. My boss told me parents are shocked when their child opens up during the group activities. They are so grateful they usually leave tips for the staff. The museum's policy is to collect them and redistribute the cash to the activity staff on payday. This way it is all anonymous so there isn't favoritism and no staff member is left out."

"How much did you get?"

"Josh, you shouldn't ask that. It's rude," Marissa reprimanded.

Isabella smiled. "It's fine. I'm still counting. I'm amazed they left the cash in its original form of singles and fives."

"I can't believe you get paid to play with these kids and get an extra bonus. I'm definitely doing that next year," Josh resolved.

"I wish Edward would come home already," Elizabeth said. "We need to start the party."

"And Marissa and I will be late for our thing."

"What _thing_?" his stepmom asked.

"Nothing, I just planned a special night out," Marissa replied.

Isabella finally finished calculating. "Wow. I'm now holding over a hundred dollars in my hand. I love this job."

"It's getting late. Maybe we should start eating and save Edward some slices," his mom decided, slightly worried.

"He's a serious worker Elizabeth," Carlisle comforted. "He probably got held up at the office for something important."

They began eating and Carlisle brought in Josh's first present - a big bottle of brandy. His wife brought out the cake and they began to sing Happy Birthday to Josh.

"Thank you guys. This has been a great birthday so far. Better than I had in a long time," he claimed.

"Son, I'm giving you this brandy - not that I'm telling you to drink alcohol, but that you're allowed now, because you're twenty-one. It represents a rite of passage."

"Gee, thanks Dad. Could I have a sip now?"

"No don't, because you still have to drive tonight," Marissa reminded him. "My gift for you is right here." She gave him a small box with a blue bow on it. He opened it and inside was a chain linked gold bracelet. "In my family, we started a tradition of giving this bracelet when someone became twenty-one. We didn't want to encourage the drinking alcohol part."

"Sorry Josh, but I didn't have a chance to get you anything. If you want tomorrow we'll go to the mall and you could pick something. I have some extra cash lying around," Isabella laughed, lifting some of her billfolds.

"You don't have to, but if you _insist_ I won't _resist_ ," he laughed.

Edward finally arrived home after ten. He was holding a small box with a red bow. Josh had a big smile on his face. Edward saw his expression and corrected his assumption. "It's not what you think. This is for Isabella."

Josh's expression fell. "I should've known. You never get me a present."

"Well with that attitude, I'm not giving you this." He pulled out a colored envelope from his inside pocket. It was embossed with bows.

"No, no. I'm sorry. Please?" He handed it to him and he opened it.

"You got me tickets to _Volturi_ in concert!"

"Yup. Two tickets for next week. You could take Marissa. It took forever to arrive, that's why I'm late. I called in some favors."

"Wow! Thanks Edward. You are like the best stepbrother, ever."

"Don't mention it."

Elizabeth and Carlisle glanced at each other with impressed smiles.

"You could buy me a drink now that you're legal."

"You got it!"

"Uh, No!" Edward's mom refused.

"I was just kidding," he explained to his mom.

"Hey, could we serve the cake? It looks good," Josh requested. They sliced it up and everyone got a piece. Isabella brought Edward his dinner. He thanked her and explained she could have her present after the party, so not to steal Josh's thunder.

"So what do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked.

"I'm going with Josh to the mall. I owe him a birthday gift."

"You gave him _our_ day?"

"You could come, too."

Edward paused theatrically. "Mmm, okay."

 **._.**

Later that night, he knocked on her door. "Could I come in to your room?" She nodded and stepped aside. "Firstly, I'm taking you to the amusement park on Sunday. It's already been decided."

"Oh, really?" she remarked sarcastically.

"Don't you want to go?"

"I do."

"Then what's the problem?" he asked. He presented to her with the red-bowed box. "Secondly, here is your charm."

"You wrapped it?"

"I was in a birthday present mood." She carefully unwrapped and opened the ring box. It was an odd shaped charm with engraved fireworks. She smiled as she attached it. "See the fireworks represent the _fire_ between us." He began to breathe heavy. "Sometimes it's explosive, but it won't ever extinguish."

She bit her lip. Her hand rested on the side of his cheek. "You mean that?"

He put his hand over hers on his cheek. "Whole heartily." She stepped closer and shifted up to kiss him, but he stepped back. "Sorry, but I know where this will lead and … I think my family is still awake. I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded. He turned and left the bedroom, leaving Isabella to have the rest of the night to herself.

 **A/N: So what did you all think?**


	12. Chapter 12 - Memory

_A/N: Well we are almost done._

 **Ch 12 August – Memory**

August came around. The two were still careful about physical contact in front of his family. Isabella relished every moment she and he were able to hold hands. "I swear my mother keeps giving me this weird look when she notices we were in the same room alone. It's creepy."

"It's only for a few more weeks. We'll head off back to Phoenix for the fall semester and we'll be free of parental supervision," Isabella stated.

"Whoa! I've never seen this side of you."

"I know. Now that I'm comfortable with your touch, I'm being deprived of it. Is it me or does your mom seem to go to sleep later and later every night?"

 **._.**

On August seventeenth, Isabella came from work to an empty house. A note was left by Edward's mom to take care of dinner. Josh was on a date, so it was going to be just Edward and her alone for a few hours. She quickly put her things down and ran to the kitchen to prepare something special. He came home to see her just finishing setting the table, the smell of something delicious in the air.

"Hi Honey, what's for dinner?" he joked as he sat down by the table.

She snickered as she put the food down. "Spaghetti and meatballs." She sat beside him and he pecked her cheek. "Oops, I forgot the serving utensils," she muttered.

"I'll get it." He sprang up to the drawers and retrieved a serving spoon.

They sat together eating and slurping loudly to try and get the other to laugh. After a while, he asked, "Where _is_ everyone, anyway?"

"Josh is on a date with Marissa and your mom and Carlisle left somewhere having to do with some annual thing. She didn't say, only that I should prepare dinner and they'll be late. I wonder what's going on. It's out of character for her to leave us alone."

Edward's expression froze. "I can't believe I forgot."

"What did you forget? Are you okay?" she asked taking in his grave mask.

"I was just so happy, I almost missed it."

"You're not okay. What is it?" She took hold of his hand.

"My dad. It's the memorial day of when he died. I'm supposed to go to the cemetery to visit."

"Do you want me to come along?" she politely offered. He nodded. They quickly cleared the table and then drove toward the cemetery.

"My dad would have liked you," he said solemnly on the way.

"What makes you think so?"

"You're a person that doesn't just sit there. You like to do things — to keep yourself occupied. He was like that. He loved to accomplish things. He told me it fulfilled him. I remember when I was in elementary school he used to send a car to pick me up and bring me to his work. I used to sit in his office during meetings doing my homework. He would help me sometimes. I loved when he helped in math. He used experiences from his daily occurrences to show me how to work math problems out."

"Clever."

"Yeah. He did that a lot and not only in math. It wired my brain to think like him. He prepared me to take over his business without me knowing it."

"What actually happened to your dad?"

"He was sick in his brain for a long time. The disease took him away piece by piece. He wasn't even the same dad toward the end. We were all praying he would find peace. The ailment really caused a lot of psychoses. That's why I like psychology; it gives me an inkling of what was going on with my dad."

"So he had a psychological disorder?"

"No. It was something biological. A virus."

"He had encephalitis?" she determined.

"Yeah. You're really good with those words." He glanced at her.

"I'm a college student," she replied humbly.

Edward pulled into a parking space in the lot. They got out and walked over to the cemetery entrance. When they got to the grave site, his parents had already left. Edward pointed to the plot to show Isabella the stone.

"It's nice," she remarked.

He turned toward the burial spot and spoke aloud to his dad.

"Hi Dad. This is Isabella. She's …" he glanced at her, "a very good girl for me." He walked closer to the stone and slightly lowered his voice. "I know you may have been a little concerned with my past history with females. You don't need to worry. I've been taking care of the business the way you taught me. I hope I'm making you proud. I…" His next sentence never made it out as he tried to stifle the tears welling up in his eyes. Isabella took a step forward and hugged him gently.

"I miss him so much," he uttered between sobs.

"I know. It's okay. I'm here for you." She rubbed his back.

He looked at her and slowly went in for a kiss. He began softly, but then pulled her in hard and held on tight. Isabella squeaked slightly from the pain. He loosened a little then he sobbed as he took his breaths. She held onto him. He eventually stopped and whispered, "Sorry."

"Do you want to leave?" she asked.

"Yeah." He was wiping his eyes. He took hold of her hand as they left back to his car.

They drove for a few minutes in silence. Finally Edward spoke, "I think my dad watches down on me. He helps me make the right decisions."

"You're probably right. Angels are always there to help, watching and waiting till they are needed. It kind of makes me a little paranoid to use the bathroom." She smiled. He smiled too. "It's nice to see you smile again. You kind of lost it back there."

"I didn't mean to do that. I was just ..."

"It's okay. You were comforting yourself. I understand; it was a difficult moment. I'm glad I was there."

He pulled up to the driveway and parked. "My dad really would've _loved_ you. You're so caring and warm. You are always so amazing and you make me happy."

Her cheeks pinked and she gave a small smile as she entered the house first, while Edward followed behind her. Inside, Edward's mom and stepdad were eating dinner in complete silence. Elizabeth's eyes were slightly swollen. Isabella smiled and left to her bedroom. It made her happy to know Edward's father was not forgotten.

 **._.**

The next day, Edward rushed home. He found his mom and Isabella making dinner. "Mom, could I borrow Isabella for a moment." Isabella followed him to the living room.

"I know it's really early, but I needed to give this to you now." He held out the velvet ring box. She looked at him directly into his dark eyes then down at the box. She slowly opened it to find a charm of a golden sun. He took her wrist and added it to her bracelet. "There now, it's done."

She critiqued the new addition to her wrist. "Is the charm supposed to remind us August is supposed to be hot? Because believe me, you don't know _hot_ until you spend a summer in Phoenix."

"No," he chuckled slightly, but then became serious. "It's to remind us you warmed my heart. Because of you, my home, my family, they're a pleasure to be around. Before you I never warmed up to Josh. I never liked coming home. I would make any excuse to stay at the office. But now, I sit here and I know I have a real family. You are the sun that chased away my rain. I love you, Isabella, very much."

She touched her hand to his cheek. "Thank you, but I didn't fix anything. I may have pointed things out, but you guys fixed yourselves. You all wanted it. All you needed was someone to push you in the right direction."

"You're being modest."

She smiled. "I love you, too, Edward."

"I can't believe it's almost been a whole year. It feels like it flew by."

"We have to celebrate, but I don't want any presents."

"This again?"

"Come on. All I want is a nice dinner and no surprises."

Eventually August ended and the college students flew back to Phoenix together to begin another semester of school.


	13. Chapter 13 - Anniversary

_A/N: So this is the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this little step into my world. Thank you._

 _Disclaimer: The story is mine, the imagination is yours, but because of the character names, Stephenie Meyer gets the credit._

 **Ch 13 September – Anniversary**

September 8th Isabella took a seat beside Edward in a very nice restaurant. Their anniversary was technically the next day, but there weren't any reservations available. When dinner was through Edward revealed he had something to give her. He held out the ring box. "Happy Anniversary."

She looked at the grey box held in his palm. "Do I get to keep the box now? I don't think my bracelet will fit."

He shook his head. "This has nothing to do with your wrist."

"I thought we decided no presents for our anniversary. Now I feel bad I don't have something for you." She took the box light-heartily.

"I know what you're going to say. Just hear me out," he suggested.

She looked into his serious eyes and then slowly opened the box. Inside was a beautiful three carat diamond ring. It was oval with a thick platinum setting and six small round stones on each side forming a sideways "V" shape.

"Edward," she breathed. Her expression was in utter shock. He took her hand and she looked at him. Her heart raced as she felt it would beat right out of her chest.

"You know I love you. I told you I wanted to marry you. I'm giving you this so you know I was serious, _am …_ serious. We don't need to set a date yet. I know we're still young and in school. We never finished our tour of Europe and haven't even started on Asia. I wanted you to have this ring on your finger so you would just … _know_."

"It's purple," she said as a response.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Edward, I don't want this ring," she paused. "I don't want to be engaged to you." His eyes fell along with his heart. The pain in his chest almost tore him in two. Her hand lifted up to his chin so he would look onto her again. "Let me finish! I don't want this ring, to be just engaged to you, and not have a date." Her mouth cracked into a smile. "I need to know there is a goal, not just it's up in the air." His jaw dropped midway through her sentence and now he swallowed.

"Let me be clear?" he asked. "Are you saying 'yes'?"

"If you're asking?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes. When?"

He hugged her. "Now."

She pulled away. "What?"

"No, no, of course not now. Tomorrow, yes tomorrow. Exactly on our anniversary we'll get married," he recommended.

"Edward that's ridiculous."

"Why? We're in Arizona. It's just a short flight to Vegas. We could be there and back in no time. We won't even miss any classes."

"That's crazy!"

"No. What's crazy is wasting time to plan a wedding for people who could care less and putting unnecessary stress on a relationship, possibly even breaking it up."

"But Edward, tomorrow?"

"We've been together for a year. How much longer do you want to wait?"

"I don't know. Don't you need a Pre-nup?"

"A Pre-nup?"

"You're rich Edward."

"Here." He pulled things out of his pockets including his chained wallet Isabella gave him for Christmas. "You could have it all. All I want is you."

She looked at the items on the table then back at him. "But our families, don't you want them to be there?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

Her eyes focused on him then down at the ring, which somehow was already on her finger. "Okay."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

He hugged her again and his mouth joined hers. "I'm going to make you so happy."

She smiled. "I already am."

He looked at the other patrons of the restaurant who were staring. "She said _yes_!"

The patrons smiled and sent out whispered congratulations.

 **A/N: Well that's it. How did you like it? Please let me know. I feel it needs another chapter, but I'm having difficulty writing it. It _is_ brewing in my head, but I'm not sure how to get it down. Send me any suggestions.**

 **And as always,**

 **it is**

 **great2read**


	14. Epilogue - Telling the folks

**A/N: I reached in a pulled this out of my head. I hope you like it.**

 **Disclaimer: Not my characters, but certainly my story.**

 **Epilogue – Telling the Folks**

April had come around again and Isabella rubbed and her slightly protruding tummy. She had recently been feeling pulsations at random occurrences and smiled at the idea of another human growing inside her. Edward and Isabella hadn't planned to start a family so soon, but since the baby would most likely be born in the end of the summer when Isabella would be on break, they decided not to sweat the details. She'll just take off two sessions at be back for the spring semester.

She was more concerned by the fact that _his_ parents still were unaware of their nuptials. Once the two were wed, they decided it would be better to tell their family's face-to-face during school break. It would give the newlyweds a chance to start their happy lives together in their new apartment before having to explain the whole story in great detail to the disappointed glances they knew would come their way. They were both still enrolled at school and didn't need the added stress. Isabella's family was told first.

 **._.**

It all came out during Thanksgiving when her parents refused to allow Edward to stay overnight.

"What do you mean you got married?" her mother questioned. "When? Where?"

"On September ninth in Las Vegas; it was our anniversary."

Her father stood up from the chair and left the room.

"Dad!" Isabella called after him.

"It was a quick ceremony," Edward explained to her mom, "very little fanfare. You didn't miss much, but I love her and couldn't wait."

"Why not?" Ms. Swan asked. She looked at Isabella. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No of course not, Mom. It's just timing. We didn't want it to disrupt our education. If we plan a wedding, I would focus on that instead of my classes. You know how important school is to me." She looked at the doorway. "You think Dad's okay?"

"He looks upset. Maybe you should talk to him."

Isabella got up and went to find her father. "Dad?" She spotted him holding a mug of coffee in the kitchen. "I think you might want something stronger than that."

His face contorted with anger. How could you do that, marrying a guy so suddenly?

"Dad, we've been together for a year. I love him. It was the natural next step. Would you have been happy if we lived together without our wedded bliss? Didn't you say this was the only body I would have?"

"Yeah, but I didn't mean you should marry the first guy you're serious about."

"Well how many guys should I be serious about before I committed to one? How many heartbreaks should a person have so they could recognize the _right_ guy?" Her father stayed silent. "Dad, he _is_ the right guy. He loves me - no heartbreak required."

"You still should have waited."

"Why?"

"Because your families should have been there. I wanted to _be_ there. That was incredibly selfish of you."

"What?"

"You're my only daughter, my only _child_. How many other chances do you think I'll get to walk someone down the aisle? Even if I remarry and have another kid, 50/50 on a girl, I'll still need to wait till she becomes an adult and finds the right person to marry. I'll be dead by then. You were my only chance. You took that away!''

"Dad!" she called to calm him down. She hugged him as she smiled. "I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't mind a redo."

"What?"

"Come on, let's talk to Edward. I have an idea." The two returned back to the dining room and Isabella explained her idea of having a simple wedding ceremony during winter break. His parents would be told by then and would likely appreciate the chance to attend the ceremony as well. Her parents could plan it the way they want, invite who they want, and Isabella will wear her mom's wedding dress. It didn't matter to Edward and Isabella, this party was for the parents and they would just show up.

Unfortunately things on Edward's side of the family didn't go as planned. Come mid-January, Isabella walked down the aisle with her dad and mock married Edward with none of his family present. It was a lovely day until the bride began to feel unwell. She spent the rest of the afternoon "tossing her cookies" in the bathroom. That night they discovered she was pregnant.

 **._.**

"I can't believe you Edward." They were in a taxi coming from the airport. He and Isabella were going to see his family for the first time since Vegas.

"I can't believe all this time you didn't tell them we got married."

"It's not something I could spring on them over the phone. I need to tell them in person."

"They're going to be angry."

"Well it's not my fault. We went to Chicago for winter break, but they felt it was more important to go to California."

"Your brother wanted to see Marissa on Christmas."

" _Step_ brother and it made a nice honeymoon for us. We had the whole place to ourselves." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Don't distract your way out of it. You should have said something. Remember how my parents reacted?"

"Right over here," he directed the driver to stop then pulled a few twenties from his wallet to pay the driver. He continued to defend his side. "We gave them the wedding reception they wanted in January."

"Which your family missed." They both got out of the car and gather their things.

"I told them to stop by Phoenix on their way back. It's not my fault Marissa broke up with Josh and he just wanted to go home." He banged the back of the yellow cab. "The trunk please." The trunk popped open.

Isabella continued, "I bet if you told them it was us getting married for the _second_ time they would have made it their business to be there, with a weeping Josh and all."

Edward pulled out their luggage and put the duffel bag over his shoulder. "With a weeping Josh?"

"Don't change the subject! I'm four months along. What do you think they are going to say?"

"They won't notice." He slammed the trunk and took her hand.

"Are you kidding me?" The taxi drove off. They walk together to the front door of his childhood home pulling a long they're rolling luggage.

Just before he was going to open the door he looked at his wife. "It's not too late to go back to Phoenix."

"Oh Edward, stop chickening out." She knocked hard announcing their arrival.

"They're here, they are here!" They heard an excited Elizabeth call out before opening the door. "Hey!" Edward's mom yelled as she hugged her son and pulled him inside. "We missed you." She turned to Isabella. "You too, Isa –" she halted her words as she stared at the female's face in contemplation. "Carlisle, come greet your son."

Carlisle came down from upstairs. "Hey guys!" He went to hug Isabella first forgetting her touch aversion which was now long gone. "Oh, you gained a little weight there."

"Yeah," she responded as she pinked up. "I couldn't help it." He took the bag from her arms and set it by the couch.

"Is that Isabella I hear?" Josh walked in from the kitchen with a snack in his hand. "How's my favorite one of Edward's ex-girlfriends?"

"Ex?" she questioned.

"What? You two still together? Am I never going to get a chance?" he joked. She laughed with him.

"Never," Edward replied in seriousness. "How are you doing man?" He shook Josh's hand.

"Well. I can't complain. I did start some classes over at the community college. It helped a lot after the whole Marissa thing. I've moved on." He looked over at Isabella who was now pulling off her jacket and setting herself down on the couch. "You seem to have snatched one of the good ones."

Edward looked over at her too. "Yeah, I got lucky."

The parents were whispering to one another. "Edward could we see you a moment?" his mother asked.

He removed his jacket as well and set it beside his wife. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "Here we go."

"Good luck," she whispered back.

"Yes Mom. What's up?"

"What's up? What's up!" she whisper yelled. "She's pregnant."

"You noticed."

"Noticed? Of course we noticed. We haven't seen you both in eight months, when _she_ ," Elizabeth pointed at Isabella, "was a skinny little thing, and now she's not." Mrs. Cullen looked at Isabella. "No offense."

"None taken."

Josh sat by her. "You're pregnant? Wow." She smiled at him. He lowered his voice. "So you finally did the deed?"

She elbowed him in the gut. "Josh!"

"Oaf! I see that touch thing is no longer a problem," he gasped while holding his stomach in pain. He shifted a little away from her.

"So what are you going to do now?" Edward's mom continued.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're stuck with her. And don't give me that _'we're going to get married'_ stuff because it almost never works out."

"Darling-" Carlisle interrupted.

"No Honey, he needs to understand. We speak from experience. The Maitland's daughter, down the block, got pregnant and she got married. The two teens were miserable and the boy ran off."

"We're not teens, Mom," Edward reminded her.

"And Sarah, my best friend Sarah. You remember her? She got married after getting pregnant. She regretted it four months in. They were divorced before the baby's first birthday."

"Mom."

"What about your stepfather here? He and the previous Mrs. Cullen divorced, also marrying because of her pregnancy."

"Wait a sec! I'm illegitimate?" Josh spoke up.

"No son," Carlisle confessed. "Your mom lost the baby. We had you a year-and-a-half later."

"But you claimed things weren't right. You only stayed together because you were already married."

"Look in our defense, we had a few good years and we made Josh, which I never regretted."

"Thanks Dad."

"My point is," she turned back to her son, "a pregnancy forces you to take steps before you are prepared to take them." She looked at Isabella. "I'm sure you would be a great addition to the family, from what I learned from last summer, but that was just two months of you. 24/7 for long spans of time is different and add a baby to the mix..."

"We're already-" Edward begin, but his mom interrupted.

"Don't you say _'living together.'_ Oh G-d! She probably had her stuff packed and in his dorm as soon as she saw the stick turn blue."

"Mom!" he yelled. "Let me make things completely clear. Don't you _ever_ speak like that about my wife!"

"Wife?" Carlisle uttered.

"Wife?" Elizabeth repeated.

"You guys got married?" Josh asked Isabella. She smiled shyly and nodded.

"Isabella and I got married right after summer break in September. This was _before_ she got pregnant."

"What?"

"It was really small. We flew out to Vegas and married in MGM Grand Hotel Chapel. We stayed overnight and then came back to start school. There was no friends, no family, just us," Isabella explained.

"You just decided at the spur of the moment?" Elizabeth asked her son.

"It was our first anniversary and you knew how I felt about her was brewing for a while."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Carlisle requested.

"We decided to tell our parents in person. This was before I was pregnant and thought we were going to see you in December," Isabella answered.

"But you guys weren't here and you didn't come to Arizona in January when I asked, so you missed the wedding her parents threw."

"They threw you a wedding?"

"My parents were upset when we told them at Thanksgiving."

"I could imagine," Elizabeth mumbled.

"I'm their only child and my dad wanted to walk me down the aisle. We figured January would be good because by then you guys would know and it would be perfect timing. We could take the winter session off and it's slow season at work so everyone could be there."

"But we didn't come because I was upset," Josh stated. "Sorry."

"Then I discovered I was pregnant and Edward was supposed to tell you guys, but didn't. So here we are."

"Surprise!" Edward held out his open arms.

His mom and stepdad looked at each other. They both had no words.

"This is the part where you say, _'congratulations,'_ " Edward suggested.

Josh looked at Isabella and held out his arms for a hug. "Congratulations?"

"Oh thanks, Josh." She came in and he squeezed her tight.

Edward piped up, "Hey, careful with the merchandise."

"So that's it? You're married?" his mother questioned. "There's nothing we could do about it?"

"What is there _to_ do, Darling?" Carlisle answered. He took her hand. "He's a grown man and about to be a father."

"I guess you're right. It was a bumpy road, but I think you've thought this through." She turned to Isabella. "And it's not like he made a bad choice. You've managed to keep him this long. I really hope this will last."

"Thank you," Isabella responded back. "You've raised a mighty fine boy."

"Please, I did nothing. That boy raised himself." She went over to Edward and tousled his hair. "If he listened to me, he would have stayed in Chicago. But like his father, he's headstrong."

He smiled at his mom as he tried to fix his hair. "You had a lot more influence than you think."

"Really? Could've fooled me." She hugged him.

"Aww," Carlisle moaned. "Group hug." He wrapped his arms around his wife and stepson.

Josh hugged Isabella again. "Hey." The baby kicked him through her stomach.

"Ow! Your baby's got some strength."

"That's right," Edward cheered and came over the couch to pat his spouse's tummy. "Protect Mommy from Uncle Josh."

" _Uncle Josh,_ really?" Josh asked in shock.

"Yeah, I don't want to confuse the kid and you are the only uncle he or she will have. I might as well give up the whole 'step' thing."

"That's awesome!"

Isabella nuzzled into her husband's arms. "You did good, Edward."

 **A/N: Okay ... now that's it. I hope this epilogue was as good as you may have expected. I could have put more drama, but then I'll never finish this story. Tell me what you think and if you PM some ideas I might add another chapter.**

 **Goodbye for now.**

 **As always  
it is  
great2read**


	15. Outtake

**READ THIS FIRST**

 **A/N: This a little outtake from the original story to make up for my faux pa yesterday with the name confusion.**

 **Let me explain the story circumstance so there won't be more confusion. Edward and Bella never had sex and he's been having sex dreams of random woman. Don't worry she knows.**

 **Edward proposed to Bella on their anniversary and they planned a wedding in Phoenix on January 8th. Josh and Angela got together to make a bachelor and bachelorette party for the weekend before. It was in Las Vegas at the same establishment, but on different floors.**

 **What happens in Vegas . . .**

Everyone was unpacking in their room at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. It was a week before the wedding and they headed to the private party rooms for the Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties. The rooms both had the same Dance Club Party theme. The lights flashed and the music was loud and pumping.

"Josh, this party is awesome," Edward cheered.

"You just wait till the strippers arrive," Josh anticipated.

"What? Isabella is in the party room upstairs. She'll kill me."

"It will be fine. It is all in good fun. Look, here comes the alcohol." A waitress walked by carrying a tray of various drinks and was handing them out.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to be drinking. I really should have a clear head."

"Oh come on. This trip is to commemorate your last days single. Relax and enjoy yourself. I'll watch you and won't let you do anything to hurt Isabella," Josh promised as he took two glasses filled with amber liquid off the tray.

"You sure?" Edward took the glass Josh handed him.

Josh nodded and gulped down beer from the large glass.

Meanwhile at Isabella's party the girls were dancing to the loud music. She was enjoying herself when a bunch of ladies came in dressed a little too provocatively. She went up to them and asked them who they were.

"This is a private party," Isabella shouted over the music.

"We know. We were hired for the Mason Bachelor Party."

"Really? Does this look like a Bachelor Party?" She gestured to all the girls around. "It's one flight down."

"Oh. Sorry."

"You know what? I'll join you. I need to speak to the groom."

Isabella began to walk out with the strippers. The others from the party followed along. When Isabella walked into the Bachelor Party, she saw her fiancé drinking and dancing on the table. All the guys were cheering him on.

"That's the groom's over there," she pointed. "But remember to bring him back to me in one piece."

"You're the bride?" one asked.

"Yeah," she said with a sad expression.

The strippers looked at each other. "There are plenty of guys here to entertain. I think we could manage to spread our time really thin."

"Thank you," Isabella smiled. "The best man is over there," she pointed. "He's nursing a broken heart."

The girls from the Bachelorette Party started mingling with the guys of the Bachelor Party, while the strippers set up to prepare for their dance. The spirits of the party significantly rose. Edward noticed Isabella staring at him and came over to her.

"It seems our two parties are together after all," he yelled over the music. "Dance with me." The two danced most of the night. He kept drinking alcohol, but she stuck to non-alcoholic beverages. Edward took a gulp, wiped his face on his sleeve and kissed her clumsily on the mouth.

"I like this party," he slurred.

"You're kind of drunk."

"Just a little bit," he confirmed holding up his right hand pinching his index and thumb together.

"I have to go to the ladies room. I'll be back in a minute."

"No problem," Edward said. As she left, he started to dance again.

"Hello ladies. I'm the groom and this is my party. Everyone has to dance with me. It's a rule." He pulled a couple of girls over and danced with them.

Edward opened his eyes. He woke up in a bed with a throbbing headache and a girl on his right side. It was still dark. He didn't recognize the room or the girl who was facing away from him. He stared at her, hoping for some clue to her identity.

 _Is that pink hair?_ He thought.Her odd wavy hair covered her face. He began to panic. _What did I do?_ _Why did I drink so much last night? I can't even believe I was_ allowed _to drink. I'm still underage. I'm going to kill Josh, just after Isabella kills_ me _. I knew I wasn't going to make it to the wedding. Those stupid dreams!_

He tried to move to a seated position without disturbing the girl. She had her hands under her chin and she began to move her left hand a little. It caught his eye, something metallic on her finger. Edward reached over and gently pulled the arm down, so he could see the girl's hand. There was a wedding ring on it. He instantly looked at his and noticed he was wearing one, too. _I got married?_ he guessed. He paused, and then gently brushed the hair aside. The whole thing slipped off, away from her face. It was a wig, a wig on Isabella. _Isabella!_ his silent voice screamed with relief. _Isabella?_

Edward looked at his watch to see what day it was, to know if he had blacked out an entire week. _Nope._ With some relief, but still confused he put his arms around her and squeezed gently.

"Isabella. My wife? Wake up," he whispered in her ear.

Isabella turned over. "Good morning," she smiled.

"What happened last night? All I remember was you going to the ladies room and I was I think dancing with some of the girls."

"I came back and saw those ladies getting a little too friendly with you. But, before I could say anything, you pulled away from them and came over to me, claiming that I was the only one that could have you. I told you not until we were married. And you said, 'I can fix that.' You picked me up over your shoulder, which was scary by the way. You took me across the street the chapel, and we were married."

"You're kidding. The wedding is on Wednesday," Edward uttered in disbelief.

"I guess you couldn't wait."

"Why did you agree?" he questioned, confused.

"I wanted to marry you, Edward. I didn't care when or where. And, if you were with me last night, you couldn't be with another girl," she explained.

"Jealous?"

"Not anymore," she giggled. "Funny thing though, as soon as we got to this room, you fell asleep."

"You mean we didn't?"

"Nope." she shook her head.

"Good."

"Good?" she repeated, questioning.

"I would have hated to have forgotten it." He leaned down to kiss her, maneuvering on top of her. His lips moved down to the crevice between her shoulder and her neck. His experienced hands began to tug at her clothing.

"Wait Edward," she whispered. "What about our wedding? Will I still be able to wear white?"

Edward deeply gazed into her eyes. "You said we're already married and I waited long enough," he breathed. He began to kiss her again, but slowly. He didn't want to pressure her. She slid her arms around him and pulled off his shirt. He arms slid down to her pants and unzipped it, as she unbuttoned her blouse. She began to remove them both, while he stripped his slacks off. Their faces united again drinking from each other's lips and he mused, _Finally_. 

**A/N: Did you like? I hope so. Want more pieces that didn't make it into the story? Just ask.**


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